September was a huge month for the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) in Washington. Four new Senators and eighteen Representatives came on to the bill, bring our total number of cosponsors to a record eighteen Senators and 118 House Members – increases of 30% and 20% respectively.
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Clearly, the binational couples who reach out to their elected officials are changing hearts and minds. And this upswing is happening right when members are heading home – at the end of the month – to campaign for reelection. It shows that for many members of Congress, supporting LGBT rights is part of their reelection plan. And for Immigration Equality, it helps us position UAFA in the next Congress and administration as a bill with momentum and growing support.
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Members came on from all across the country, from the red, blue, and purple states – the Carolinas, Kansas, Washington state, Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, you name it!
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Immigration Equality couldn’t say it better than cosponsors in Congress from both parties who spoke out this week on the importance of UAFA:
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Senator Chris Dodd, D-CT: “U.S. immigration law should not force Americans to leave their country and community behind in order to keep their family intact. I am pleased to cosponsor the Uniting American Families Act, which will allow lesbian and gay Americans the basic dignity of sponsoring their partner for immigration.”
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Representative Christopher Shays, R-CT-4: “I believe our nation’s immigration laws treat gay and lesbian couples unfairly. Two people of the same sex can be involved in a loving, long-term relationship and feel no less love for one another than partners in a heterosexual relationship. Yet our immigration laws do not permit U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to bring their same-sex partners into the United States. There are tragic stories about U.S. citizens being forced to make a choice between leaving the partner they love or leaving this country they call home.”
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Today, at a hearing on a bill for federal employment benefits for domestic partners, the only witness against benefits, Hon. Howard Weizmann, Deputy Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), said the measure would lead to fraud – and offered as the only proof the movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry!! (He also announced at the beginning of the hearing that OPM was neutral on the issue, then received a note mid-hearing and announced that OPM is against domestic partnership benefits. Sounds a bit like the administration may be making policy decisions on the fly!)

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In any case, if Hollywood fantasies are the best argument that opponents to same-sex partner benefits can muster on the Hill – well, what can we say. Even Bill O’Reilly didn’t think of that one! Meanwhile, Senators Lieberman (I-CT) and Collins (R-ME), the chairman and ranking members of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee which held the hearing, argued that same-sex partners of federal employees should be entitled to full health, relocation, retirement, and other employment benefits. Senators, business leaders and labor witnesses argued that sworn affidavits should be sufficient evidence of a committed partnership. If affidavits are good enough proof of relationship for employment benefits for same-sex partners, then the much more rigorous requirements to prove a committed relationship for sponsoring a spouse should certainly suffice for immigration benefits!

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This is not to make light of the challenges we will face in winning full immigration equality for LGBT and HIV-positive Americans in Washington. The fact is that the stigma against immigrants now seems stronger than anti-LGBT sentiments inside the beltway. Our challenge will be to work with other immigrant rights groups to overcome that stigma, and win the right of family unification for all of America’s immigrant families – including ours.

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And the dramatic increase in support for UAFA will provide just the right kick for restarting the fight in 2009!