F**k Your Petition

So, this morning I'm strolling through the Internet, you know, browsing, making a comment here and there, when I stumble upon the news that there is a petition circulating to allow Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie to get married. Cute, right?

Wrong; this incensed me. Incensed.Me. And not because I'm anti-Muppet, but because I don't want to waste one single iota of my life signing frivolous, cutesy petitions for felt characters to get married when there are real issues out there.

Like, say, Bradford Wells and Australian John Makk. They been partners for nineteen years, and were legally married in Massachusetts seven years ago. But, John Makk is Australian and his visa has expired and he's being forced to leave the country.

And someone wants my name on a Muppet petition?

Citing that old bigoted, hate-filled DOMA, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services denied John Makk's application for residency, even though he meets several of the criteria needed. he is the spouse, the legal spouse, of an American citizen, and he is the sole caregiver of said American citizen; he has no criminal history whatsoever and he has resided in this country, under various visas, for many year.

Too bad, so sad, you're gay, get out.

But, um, could you sign this petition for Bert and Ernie before you go?

Where's the petition for Bradford Wells and John Makk? And for countless other same-sex, bi-national couples facing deportation because they happen to reside in a backasswards country that doesn't recognize their marriage? We all giggle and coo over the idea of fucking Muppets getting married and just sit back and do nothing while a real-life couple is torn apart.

Good News Monday: Immigration Equality Will Sue Over DOMA

Immigration Equality, a group that works on LGBT immigration-related issues, is planning to file a lawsuit against the Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA], challenging that the statute is unfair to married bi-national same-sex couples.

Steve Ralls, of Immigration Equality, said the lawsuit will be filed on behalf of gay Americans who are married and have their marriages recognized in their home state, but are unable to sponsor their partners for residency under current immigration law: “There’s no doubt that the administration’s new stance on DOMA has created a new window of opportunity to advocate on behalf of our families within the court system. We believe we have a good shot at winning and securing immigration rights for, at the very least, couples who are legally married in states where those marriages are valid.”

Preparation for the lawsuit comes in the wake of the announcement from President Obama last week that he will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act against litigation in court--now, before some of you wingnuts go all crazy, he said he wouldn't defend DOMA in court, but he is still enforcing it because it's the law.
 
Ralls hopes to have plaintiffs identified within the next three to four weeks, and the suit will follow shortly thereafter. “We believe there is a real opportunity to bring a successful challenge in federal court and win a victory for couples who are struggling to remain together under current immigration laws. We’re expanding our legal advocacy work to include a federal challenge because, as the legal experts on bi-national couples and immigration law, we believe we have the expertise to mount the strongest possible suit.”

Another footfall on the path to real equality.

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