Lobby Week Update
Yesterday, was our final day of lobbying in Washington, DC and what an incredible week it was as people in same-sex binational relationships and their families told their Members of Congress about the real life consequences of immigration law and demanded change. Members of Congress and their staff were sincerely moved by our stories and found it impossible agree with the current policy.
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From the beginning we told you that we our targets were tough but their support is important as we move the bill forward. Well, we had the tough meeting, demanded change and we will see who stands where. We will have a complete wrap-up next week but for now I can tell you that our collective efforts were a success.
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Immigration Equality facilitated the actions during Lobby Week but the success belongs to those of you answered the call to action. Whether you called or wrote to your Members of Congress, recruited your friends and family to join the fight, contacted your local papers, traveled to Washington, DC or signed the petition, you were a vital part of the success of Lobby Week.
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Thanks for all of your work and please check back for a more detailed report next week. Please visit our action center to find out how you can continue to help pass UAFA.
I am really anxious to know the outcome… It’s already Wednesday and no news! Aaaahhh!
Comment by JP — May 14, 2008 @ 4:49 pm
Thank you all! Please do not give up!
Comment by Margie — May 29, 2008 @ 5:11 pm
Participating in “Lobby Week 2008” was perhaps the most inspiring and democratic act I’ve ever been involved in. I felt honored and privileged to represent the 32,000 same-sex couples that are burdened by our similar experience.
It was incredibly exciting just being on Capitol Hill where all the legislative action was taking place. You can feel the buzz and energy all around the Senate Hart Building and Dirksen Hall, where the laws of our land are being debated and considered by Senatorial and Representative staff members. Everywhere I went I saw a Senator or Representative walking the halls to and from their Committee meetings or offices. They all seemed so approachable. I was particularly surprised that we did not need to check in with our passports or IDs to enter the building. As corny as this may sound, it truly had the feeling of an open government and democracy in action.
The first thing I did was go to Senator Feinstein’s weekly constituent breakfast. I must preface, I totally villainized the woman since she has yet to support The UAFA. But I must say, she turned my head around when she passionately shared the urgency of the national debt that is funding the Iraq War. She said it was the first war that wasn’t paid for, as all previous American wars were financed by an increase in taxes. In fact, we’re spending $1 billion dollars a day there, all on credit being financed by the Chinese. Furthermore, each and every American family is paying $16,000 a year to finance this war – with interest! She also shared chilling facts regarding global warming. In fact, she nearly scared the be-Jesus out of me in terms of what’s going to happen in the next 30 years should we continue on this polluting path. In sum, I was very impressed with her presentation, and I truly believe she is a fair-minded person that will one day soon support The UAFA if we keep putting the issue and our stories in front of her.
Funny, she introduced the staff members on her team and lo and behold, my ex-brother in law was introduced as her legislative director. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him after seven years. After the breakfast, I immediately grabbed him and we ended up having coffee together and catching up for an hour and a half. He promised me that he would do anything and everything possible to help get Senator Feinstein to support UAFA. I will hold him to it. Seriously, what was the likelihood of that? I believe the universe brought us back together for the cause of getting The UAFA passed!
I also had the pleasure of meeting Matt Virkstas, chief of staff for Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the co-sponsor of the UAFA. He was moved by our stories and told us that Senator Leahy himself shared with him that the UAFA is one of his highest priorities. It was an emotional meeting when we each of the participating gay lobbyists voiced their story. Senator Leahy is our community’s biggest supporter and you should all call his office and thank him for his work!
We also met with Senator Barbara Mikulski’s (D-MD), Chief of Staff, who I must say, transformed before my very eyes. The first 20 minutes of the meeting she was this stone-faced, cold fish who I thought could care less about our cause. But once we all started telling our tragic stories, I saw this woman become the most empathetic creature on earth, and I truly believe after that experience, she will share our plight with the Senator. Let’s hope she can get her to co-sign The UAFA. If you live in Maryland, make sure you get your family, neighbors and friends to call her office!
We did actually have a meeting with the legislative director on immigration issues for Senator Feinstein (D-CA). While we waited in the lobby, Senator Feinstein walked into the reception area and saw my seven-month old daughter and fell in love with her. She was playing with our little Emma, and quite taken with her. In fact, she took a photo with our family… if she only knew her lack of support for The UAFA would sentence this little baby, an American citizen, away from the United States since my life partner is from Germany. Ironically, the legislative director on immigration had no idea that Senator Feinstein was NOT co-sponsoring The UAFA. She seemed incredibly surprised by this fact, and was shocked to hear our immigration stories. I truly believe she will do all she can to turn Senator Feinstein around. And if she doesn’t, I’ll sick my ex-brother in law on her!
The last meeting was with the legislative director for Rep. Maxine Waters. We literally crashed her office since her representatives would not commit to a meeting. She was a little annoyed that we came without an appointment, but took the time to meet with us for a few minutes since we came all the way to D.C. She told me to follow up with her within four weeks, and trust me, I will be in her face fighting for my family until Rep. Waters co-signs The UAFA!
In closing, the most incredible part of this experience was lobbying with my fellow gay and lesbian Americans who are in this very situation. The 10 or so individuals who flew from Toronto, Chicago, London, and Wisconsin, etc., to share their stories, was an incredibly moving and inspiring experience for me. I was faced with the reality that we might have to leave the United States, when I met American Thom Vernon who left Los Angeles in 2006 and moved to Toronto as a refugee when his life partner was denied a Visa in the U.S. It really hit me… this could happen to me! Just writing these words, I feel my heart drop by this highly probable scenario. Any moments of denial are long-gone after meeting my new friend, Thom. I also met American Gordon Stewart, who fled the U.S., and moved to London so that he and his life partner from Brazil could stay together. And last, Pamela will be leaving Wisconsin and moving to Canada so that she and her life partner, who is from France, can keep their family together. The circumstances of each of these individuals really made me realize how much we are on borrowed time here in Los Angeles. We gay and lesbian Americans do not have the luxury of pursuing life, liberty and happiness.
The good news is, after spending the day and evening with Adam Francoeur and Zaheer Mustafa from Immigration Equality, our fate could not be in better hands. These two individuals represent our cause with daily diligence, passion, and utmost respect for our families. While The UAFA may not go anywhere under the Bush Administration, almost all of the individuals we lobbied, unanimously believe that whether a Democrat or Republican wins in November, we stand a good chance at getting The UAFA passed one day. It would help to have a few Republican Senators and Representatives supporting The UAFA. So if any of you reading this have a moderate Republican in your district, you should call, write, and lobby that individual. Get your family and friends to do the same, because if they hear from a lot of people, it will get their attention.
I also want to thank the 40 friends, neighbors and family members who submitted letters and made phone calls to Senator Feinstein and Rep. Waters, on our behalf. Their representatives were very impressed by the thick binder of letters I dumped on them, and they heard you from Los Angeles!
In the end, I understand that as a result of “Lobby Week 2008,” we picked up a couple of Senators and about a half dozen Representatives who will co-sponsor The UAFA. I guess you can say it was incredibly effective, and is likely an effort that will take place a couple times a year in order to get enough votes to pass this bill.
After this experience, I do believe that The UAFA will get passed some day, whether it’s the next four years or ten years. I do believe it will happen! But it’s going to take an effort from not only same-sex couples, but our family members, friends and neighbors to participate by making more phone calls, writing more letters, and sharing our stories. While I know my efforts will not help my family remain in the United States in the short-term, I know I’m planting the seeds to secure our future together for the long-term. If that means we have to leave the U.S. later this year, we will not stop fighting for our family.
Participating in “Lobby Week 2008” was perhaps the most inspiring and democratic act I’ve ever been involved in. I felt honored and privileged to represent the 32,000 same-sex couples that are burdened by our similar experience.
It was incredibly exciting just being on Capitol Hill where all the legislative action was taking place. You can feel the buzz and energy all around the Senate Hart Building and Dirksen Hall, where the laws of our land are being debated and considered by Senatorial and Representative staff members. Everywhere I went I saw a Senator or Representative walking the halls to and from their Committee meetings or offices. They all seemed so approachable. I was particularly surprised that we did not need to check in with our passports or IDs to enter the building. As corny as this may sound, it truly had the feeling of an open government and democracy in action.
The first thing I did was go to Senator Feinstein’s weekly constituent breakfast. I must preface, I totally villainized the woman since she has yet to support The UAFA. But I must say, she turned my head around when she passionately shared the urgency of the national debt that is funding the Iraq War. She said it was the first war that wasn’t paid for, as all previous American wars were financed by an increase in taxes. In fact, we’re spending $1 billion dollars a day there, all on credit being financed by the Chinese. Furthermore, each and every American family is paying $16,000 a year to finance this war – with interest! She also shared chilling facts regarding global warming. In fact, she nearly scared the be-Jesus out of me in terms of what’s going to happen in the next 30 years should we continue on this polluting path. In sum, I was very impressed with her presentation, and I truly believe she is a fair-minded person that will one day soon support The UAFA if we keep putting the issue and our stories in front of her.
Funny, she introduced the staff members on her team and lo and behold, my ex-brother in law was introduced as her legislative director. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him after seven years. After the breakfast, I immediately grabbed him and we ended up having coffee together and catching up for an hour and a half. He promised me that he would do anything and everything possible to help get Senator Feinstein to support UAFA. I will hold him to it. Seriously, what was the likelihood of that? I believe the universe brought us back together for the cause of getting The UAFA passed!
I also had the pleasure of meeting Matt Virkstas, chief of staff for Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the co-sponsor of the UAFA. He was moved by our stories and told us that Senator Leahy himself shared with him that the UAFA is one of his highest priorities. It was an emotional meeting when we each of the participating gay lobbyists voiced their story. Senator Leahy is our community’s biggest supporter and you should all call his office and thank him for his work!
We also met with Senator Barbara Mikulski’s (D-MD), Chief of Staff, who I must say, transformed before my very eyes. The first 20 minutes of the meeting she was this stone-faced, cold fish who I thought could care less about our cause. But once we all started telling our tragic stories, I saw this woman become the most empathetic creature on earth, and I truly believe after that experience, she will share our plight with the Senator. Let’s hope she can get her to co-sign The UAFA. If you live in Maryland, make sure you get your family, neighbors and friends to call her office!
We did actually have a meeting with the legislative director on immigration issues for Senator Feinstein (D-CA). While we waited in the lobby, Senator Feinstein walked into the reception area and saw my seven-month old daughter and fell in love with her. She was playing with our little Emma, and quite taken with her. In fact, she took a photo with our family… if she only knew her lack of support for The UAFA would sentence this little baby, an American citizen, away from the United States since my life partner is from Germany. Ironically, the legislative director on immigration had no idea that Senator Feinstein was NOT co-sponsoring The UAFA. She seemed incredibly surprised by this fact, and was shocked to hear our immigration stories. I truly believe she will do all she can to turn Senator Feinstein around. And if she doesn’t, I’ll sick my ex-brother in law on her!
The last meeting was with the legislative director for Rep. Maxine Waters. We literally crashed her office since her representatives would not commit to a meeting. She was a little annoyed that we came without an appointment, but took the time to meet with us for a few minutes since we came all the way to D.C. She told me to follow up with her within four weeks, and trust me, I will be in her face fighting for my family until Rep. Waters co-signs The UAFA!
In closing, the most incredible part of this experience was lobbying with my fellow gay and lesbian Americans who are in this very situation. The 10 or so individuals who flew from Toronto, Chicago, London, and Wisconsin, etc., to share their stories, was an incredibly moving and inspiring experience for me. I was faced with the reality that we might have to leave the United States, when I met American Thom Vernon who left Los Angeles in 2006 and moved to Toronto as a refugee when his life partner was denied a Visa in the U.S. It really hit me… this could happen to me! Just writing these words, I feel my heart drop by this highly probable scenario. Any moments of denial are long-gone after meeting my new friend, Thom. I also met American Gordon Stewart, who fled the U.S., and moved to London so that he and his life partner from Brazil could stay together. And last, Pamela will be leaving Wisconsin and moving to Canada so that she and her life partner, who is from France, can keep their family together. The circumstances of each of these individuals really made me realize how much we are on borrowed time here in Los Angeles. We gay and lesbian Americans do not have the luxury of pursuing life, liberty and happiness.
The good news is, after spending the day and evening with Adam Francoeur and Zaheer Mustafa from Immigration Equality, our fate could not be in better hands. These two individuals represent our cause with daily diligence, passion, and utmost respect for our families. While The UAFA may not go anywhere under the Bush Administration, almost all of the individuals we lobbied, unanimously believe that whether a Democrat or Republican wins in November, we stand a good chance at getting The UAFA passed one day. It would help to have a few Republican Senators and Representatives supporting The UAFA. So if any of you reading this have a moderate Republican in your district, you should call, write, and lobby that individual. Get your family and friends to do the same, because if they hear from a lot of people, it will get their attention.
I also want to thank the 40 friends, neighbors and family members who submitted letters and made phone calls to Senator Feinstein and Rep. Waters, on our behalf. Their representatives were very impressed by the thick binder of letters I dumped on them, and they heard you from Los Angeles!
In the end, I understand that as a result of “Lobby Week 2008,” we picked up a couple of Senators and about a half dozen Representatives who will co-sponsor The UAFA. I guess you can say it was incredibly effective, and is likely an effort that will take place a couple times a year in order to get enough votes to pass this bill.
After this experience, I do believe that The UAFA will get passed some day, whether it’s the next four years or ten years. I do believe it will happen! But it’s going to take an effort from not only same-sex couples, but our family members, friends and neighbors to participate by making more phone calls, writing more letters, and sharing our stories. While I know my efforts will not help my family remain in the United States in the short-term, I know I’m planting the seeds to secure our future together for the long-term. If that means we have to leave the U.S. later this year, we will not stop fighting for our family.
Comment by Rita Boyadjian — June 10, 2008 @ 4:34 pm