Reuters reports on the issues of binational couples and how the recent marriage victories fail to help them.  Read more about how same-sex marriage impact binational couples.

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rita Boyadjian wishes she were in a better mood to celebrate the weddings of fellow gay friends after California began legally marrying same-sex couples last month.

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But her partner of six years is a German woman whose U.S. student visa runs out soon. Even if they were to legally marry in California, Margot (not her real name) could not stay in the United States because the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage for immigration purposes. [read more]

Next Wednesday, July 9th, I will be at the Long Island GLBT Center to lead a discussion on LGBT persecution overseas.  The event accompanies a wonder and poignant exhibit about LGBT victims of the Holocaust.  If you are in the New York area, please join me to view the exhibit and participate in the discussion. [details here]

The following is some background on the exhibit.

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“The Long Island GLBT Community Center has been selected by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to host one of its touring exhibits, “Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals: 1933-1945.”  The exhibit will be making its only scheduled 2008 appearance in New York at The Center from June 23rd to July 30th. 

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Between 1933 and 1945, Nazi Germany sought domination over Europe and, in what is now called the Holocaust, the total annihilation of Europe’s Jews.  As part of its effort to create a “master Aryan race,”  the Nazi Government persecuted other groups, including Germany’s homosexual men.  Believing them to be carriers of a “degeneracy” that threatened the nation’s “disciplined masculinity” and hindered population growth, the Nazi state incarcerated in prisons and concentration camps tens of thousands of men as a means of terrorizing German homosexuals into social conformity.  Through reproductions of some 250 historic photographs and documents, Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945 examines the rationale, means, and impact of the Nazi regime’s attempt to eradicate homosexuality that left thousands dead and shattered the lives of many more. 

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This exhibition, the first in a series about the lesser-known victims of the Nazi era, has been made possible in part by support from The Duane Rath Endowment Fund and the Foundation for Civil Rights. “

NEW DELHI (AP) — Men wore sparkling saris, women wore rainbow boas and hundreds of people chanted for gay rights in three Indian cities Sunday in the largest display of gay pride in the deeply conservative country where homosexual acts are illegal.

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Gay rights supporters took to the streets of Calcutta, Bangalore and New Delhi to call for an end to discrimination and push for acceptance in a society where intolerance is widespread.

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“This is a national coming-out party,” said Alok Gupta, a lawyer from Mumbai, as he stood among several hundred activists in New Delhi. “This is a simple thing: We are seeking the right to love.”[read more]

Here are some Pride statements by a few public officials. I think they are a good measure of their level of support for the LGBT community.

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NOTE: I was unable to find a Pride statement by Senator John McCain or any Republican elected official. If you know of one please forward it to me and I will update this post.
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“I am proud to join with our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered brothers and sisters in celebrating the accomplishments, the lives, and the families of all LGBT people during this Pride season. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans.”
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“It’s time to live up to our founding promise of equality by treating all our citizens with dignity and respect. Let’s enact federal civil rights legislation to outlaw hate crimes and protect workers against discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. Let’s repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and demonstrate that the most effective and professional military in the world is open to all Americans who are ready and willing to serve our country. Let’s treat the relationships and the families of LGBT Americans with full equality under the law.”
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“We are ready to accomplish these goals because of the courage and persistence of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people who have are working every day to achieve equal rights. The gay couple who demand equal treatment in our family laws as they raise their children; the lesbian soldier who wants nothing more than to serve her country openly and honestly; the transgendered workers who asks for the simple dignity of being judged by the quality of their work. Generations of LGBT Americans, at once ordinary and extraordinary, have made possible this moment in our history. With leadership and hard work, we can fulfill the promise of equality for all.”
-Barack Obama- Official Campaign Statement
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“Barack believes that we must fight for the world as it should be, a world where together we work to reverse discriminatory laws. We are all only here because of those who marched and bled and died, from Selma to Stonewall, in the pursuit of a more perfect union.”
- Michelle Obama – speech to the Democratic National Committee’s Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council

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“In this year’s Pride Month, we have much to celebrate…. In a Democratic Congress, unlike previous Congresses, malicious measures intended to divide the American people or to undermine the rights of the LGBT community are off the table.”
-House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi – Official Statement

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“I join the LGBT community in celebrating an historic year in which our country continues to make progress towards the fair and equal treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

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To each and every LGBT American, I say this: You have done so much to help this country understand your lives by simply being open and honest about who you are and living your lives with dignity. Thank you for your courage.”
-New York Senator, Hillary Clinton – Official Statement
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“Today, on behalf of Democrats across America, we join together in celebrating the contributions that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans and their families make to our society and reaffirm our Party’s commitment to promoting full equality under the law for every American.”
-Democratic National Committee- Official Statement
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“New Yorkers share a vision for a better world for all people and are committed to making our world a safer place – one in which violence has no role – by fostering awareness of those elements that serve to unite, rather than divide us as human beings; as our gay communities comprised of family members, friends, co-workers and neighbors seek the rights and understanding each of us deserves, we join to celebrate the pride they express every day through their strength and unity”
-New York Governor, David Paterson – NY State Gay Pride Proclamation
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“The theme of today’s event is ‘Pride is for Everyone’ and it is a theme I embrace because all employees in the Justice Department have a right to be proud of who they are and the work they do here.”
-US Attorney General, Michael Mukasey - Speech at the Department of Justice Pride Event

As the story goes……on June 28, 1969 the Stonewall Inn was raided by the New York City Police and a small group of LGBT patrons stood-up against the homophobic targeting. This became the start of the fight for equality that we wage everyday.

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Immigration Equality will join in celebrating this event by marching in the NYC Pride March on Sunday.   We will meet at 11am at 348 W 52nd Street, join us if you can.

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Let’s take the weekend to commemorate and celebrate, on Monday, the fight continues. Happy Pride!

LOS ANGELES - An attorney for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and his wife were arrested on suspicion of accepting thousands of dollars from both legal and illegal immigrants in exchange for immigration benefits, authorities said.
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ICE Assistant Chief Counsel Constantine Peter Kallas, 38, and wife Maria Kallas, 39, both of Alta Loma, were arrested Thursday at the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino, where authorities believed they were accepting such a bribe, U.S. Attorney spokesman Thom Mrozek said in a statement.[read more]

For all you folks keeping an eye on PEPFAR and the HIV immigration related language therein that would end the Kerry-Smith statutory inadmissibility for HIV-positive people to the U.S.– a brief update.  Rumor has it that Sen. Vitter (R-LA) may introduce an amendment to strip this provision from PEPFAR.  Please call your Senators and ask them to support the PEPFAR legislation WITH the Kerry-Smith provision.

A great example of how the REAL ID Act impacts many outside of it’s stated intentions and how database errors, even benign, will punish many and make life truly miserable.  Hat tip Chris Crain and Andoni.

Published today in the Washington Times, a conservative paper that  has long opposed immigration liberalization. �