U.S. immigration officials have granted a rare reprieve to a gay South African national, allowing a Long Island same sex couple to stay together in their Orient home. Newsday reports that Tim Smulian, 65, can now remain in the United States for a full year rather than having to leave the country and re-enter on a six-month tourist visa. Smulian married Orient resident Edwin Blesch in South Africa in 2007 but visa rules required the couple to live outside the United States for half a year. Though U.S. citizens may sponsor immigrant spouses, Blesch could not sponsor Smulian because the federal government does not recognize same sex marriages. "We are absolutely thrilled," said Smulian, a former HIV and AIDS care counsellor. "We have made a wonderful home here on Long Island and didn't want to really leave, but we had to follow the law." Smulian has been a caretaker for Blesch, who is HIV positive, a condition advocates say helped their immigration case. Blesch, a retired English professor, had found it increasingly difficult to obtain medication and access care abroad. "We have actually always stayed on the right side of the law, but it's been at an enormous cost to health and finances," said Blesch, 71. "I am an active part of my community. I pay my taxes. I have had a wonderful career teaching the youth of Long Island, so I've asked myself, 'Why are they telling me I can't be with the person I want to be with?' " Some of New York's congressional delegation -- Democratic Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, and Representative Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) -- helped the men win a reprieve. The three have stated their support for equal rights of same sex couples. Schumer called the reprieve the "right and humane thing to do" and Gillibrand stated that "committed couples deserve access to all the same immigration rights and protections as straight couples." Bishop said Congress needed to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and recognize same-sex marriages from New York and other states that permit such unions. "In a world in which the federal government recognizes the marriage of this couple, our intervention would not have been necessary," he said. The decision was important to equal rights advocates, who helped Smulian and Blesch. But a recent study from the Williams Institute of the University of California at Los Angeles found that as many as 40,000 same-sex couples were barred from filing immigration petitions. "The reprieve is a fantastic victory for them but it's important to know it's a temporary victory," said Steve Ralls, spokesman for Immigration Equality in Washington, D.C. "There is no permanent option to allow an American citizen to sponsor their same-sex spouse as straight couples do."
State Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman (R-Somerset) has introduced a measure to allow voters to decide whether New Jersey should allow gay couples to get married. According to The Star-Ledger, the measure (SCR-88) reflects what Governor Chris Christie called for after promising to veto a bill the Legislature will consider next week that would grant same sex couples the right to marry, rather than form civil unions. It would put a question on the ballot in November to amend the state Constitution to allow same-sex couples to get married. "Let's stop the political games and let the people of New Jersey decide," said Bateman (R-Somerset) in a press release. "Marriage equality advocates and opponents would both have the ability to register their opinion at the ballot box. Nobody would be disenfranchised on either side of the issue." Democrats, who control the Legislature, have scheduled votes next week in the Senate and Assembly on a bill to legalize same sex marriage, even though Republican Governor Chris Christie has pledged to veto it. Opponents of same sex marriage have long called for a ballot question, though often one that would define marriage as between a man and woman. Instead, Bateman’s ballot question would specifically amend the state Constitution to permit it. Bateman said his idea is modeled after a ballot initiative in Maine to allow gay marriage, which is supported by gay marriage advocates. That ballot question, however, is aimed at reversing a 2009 referendum that overturned the state’s law allowing gay marriage, which had been passed by its Legislature. Democrats who control the Legislature won't support a ballot question because they say marriage is a civil right, and the rights of minorities should not be put up for a popular vote. “I'm disappointed that Sen. Bateman would rather politicize an issue that should be a legislative vote of conscience rather than an opportunity by him and his allies to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians," said Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer), a sponsor. “Any time you provide voters an opportunity to make a judgment of one group over the other, it violates the Madisonian principle that are meant to protect majority whims over a given minority."
Kellan Lutz spotted backstage at the General Idea Fall/Winter 2012 men’s show in a tight turtleneck.
After qualifying Thursday as a front line Apache attack helicopter pilot, Prince Harry is reportedly headed back to Afghanistan for duty with a British unit that has the highest kill rate of any other, Harry spotted Friday in his uniform visiting the Royal Air Force Honington.
Tom Daley and his Great Britain diving teammates (including super sexy Jack Laugher) are sexy, and they know it.
0 comments:
Post a Comment