Lesbian & Gay Immigrant Families File Suit Challenging Federal Defense of Marriage Act

NEW YORK, April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Five Couples Ask Court to Recognize Families for U.S. Immigration Purposes

Five lesbian and gay couples filed suit today in the Eastern District of New York, challenging Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prevents lesbian and gay American citizens from sponsoring their spouses for green cards. The lawsuit, filed on the couples' behalf by Immigration Equality and the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, alleges that DOMA violates the couples' constitutional right to equal protection.

"Solely because of DOMA and its unconstitutional discrimination against same-sex couples," the lawsuit states, "these Plaintiffs are being denied the immigration rights afforded to other similarly situated binational couples." Were the Plaintiffs opposite-sex couples, the suit says, "the federal government would recognize the foreign spouse as an 'immediate relative' of a United States citizen, thereby allowing the American spouse to petition for an immigrant visa for the foreign spouse, and place [them] on the path to lawful permanent residence and citizenship."

The five couples named in today's suit are:

Edwin Blesch and his South African spouse, Tim Smulian. Edwin and Tim, who have been together for more than 13 years, were married in South Africa in August 2007. While their marriage is honored by Edwin's home state of New York, their green card petition was denied on March 14, 2012. They reside in Orient, New York.

Frances Herbert and her spouse, Takako Ueda, who is originally from Japan. Frances and Takako, who have known each other for 22 years, were married in April 2011. Their petition for a green card was denied on December 1, 2011. They reside in Dummerston, Vermont.

Heather Morgan and her spouse, Maria del Mar Verdugo, a native of Spain. Heather and Mar have known each other for 14 years. They were married, in New York, in August 2011 and have a pending green card petition, which is expected to be denied. They reside in New York City.

Santiago Ortiz and his spouse, Pablo Garcia, a native of Venezuela. Santiago, a Puerto Rican American, met Pablo in 1991 and registered as domestic partners in 1993. In May 2011, they were married in Connecticut. The couple have filed a green card petition, which is expected to be denied. They reside in Elmhurst, New York

Kelli Ryan and her spouse, Lucy Truman, a native of the United Kingdom. Kelli and Lucy have been a couple for more than 11 years and entered into a civil union in July 2006. They were married in March 2010 in Connecticut. Their petition for a green card was denied on March 27, 2012. They reside in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

The plaintiffs in the suit include a retired professor of English at a New York college (Blesch); a home elder-care provider (Herbert); a marketing director for a global non-profit organization (Morgan); a retired school psychologist (Ortiz); and two doctors of immunology (Ryan and Truman).

"The families in today's lawsuit meet every qualification for immigration benefits, with the sole exception that they happen to be lesbian or gay," said Rachel B. Tiven, Esq., executive director of Immigration Equality. "Solely because of their sexual orientation, they have been singled out, under federal law, for discrimination and separation. That's not only unconscionable; it is unconstitutional. We know DOMA cannot withstand careful review, and we know we will prevail on their behalf."

Immigration Equality is widely recognized as the country's premiere national organization providing legal counsel to LGBT immigrant families. In 2011, the organization fielded 1,431 legal inquiries from binational couples like those in the suit filed today, a 141% increase over the previous year. A recent analysis from the Williams Institute at the University of California-Los Angeles estimated 36,000 couples - and the nearly 25,000 children being raised by them - are impacted by the United States' refusal to recognize lesbian and gay relationships for immigration purposes.

"Whether the federal government recognizes a couple's marriage can determine whether a family may remain in the United States and live together, or may be torn apart," the suit states, adding that, ". . . the federal government also has set the preservation of families as national priority."

"As a nation," the complaint filed with the court says, "we want to keep families together, not rip them apart."

"These families represent the tens of thousands of others like them who are threatened with, or have already been forced into, separation or exile," Tiven said. "Their victory in court will end the threat that has hung over their families, their homes and their marriages for far too long."

DOMA, the lawsuit concludes, "threatens . . . marriages while purporting to 'defend' marriage. It does violence not only to these five couples, not only to the institution of marriage, but to the Constitution of the United States."

A copy of the lawsuit, biographies of each plaintiff couple and other information are available online at www.immigrationequality.org/lawsuit .

Immigration Equality is a national organization fighting for equality under U.S. immigration law for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and HIV-positive individuals

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lesbian-gay-immigrant-families-file-suit-challenging-federal-defense-of-marriage-act-2012-04-02-171900

Kelly Cassidy And Paula Basta, Two Democratic Lesbian Activists, Square Off In Tense Illinois Statehouse Race

When long-time Chicago lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activist Kelly Cassidy was appointed last spring to the Illinois Statehouse of Representatives, a saga between rivals began.
Cassidy won the seat following a well-attended public meeting last April, where the 48th Ward Democratic committeewoman, Carol Ronen, chose her to fill a vacancy left by Harry Osterman -- who departed to join Chicago's city council. Despite Cassidy having the support of residents attending the meeting, her opponents quickly claimed that her success had more to do with clout within Chicago's "deep-pocketed political machine" than the will of the North Side district's voters. One of those who had vied for the spot was Paula Basta, also an out lesbian and a long-time LGBT activist.
Basta announced that same April day that she would attempt to unseat Cassidy the first opportunity she could. The contest will culminate in the Illinois Democratic primary on March 20.
Their contest may mark one of the first times two openly LGBT candidates have faced off for a state office -- a rare scenario likely to become more common as increasing numbers of gay and lesbian people run for public office. In 2010, a lesbian Democrat and a gay Republican competed for State Assembly in California.
Denis Dison, a spokesman for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a national group that works to elect LGBT elected officials, said two openly LGBT candidates running head-to-head is rare. In San Diego's mayor race, two of the major candidates currently running -- both Republicans -- are gay or lesbian.

In this case, both candidates are lesbian Democrats, with similar positions, passionately invested in the district and both are campaigning very hard -- Cassidy to be elected, rather than appointed, and Basta for redemption following last year's defeat. In the months that followed Basta's announcement, the race has become increasingly tense. Basta's campaign last month claimed that Cassidy allegedly was behind a phone survey whose questions included a charge that Basta was under federal investigation for conducing political work while on the clock at her day job a city position as the regional director of the Levy Senior Center, the Windy City Times reported.
Basta denies those allegations and said Cassidy's camp was just attempting to cook up a scandal.
"My only question is, Who would have been doing a poll like that? Who else would have been doing something like that?" Basta told The Huffington Post.
But Cassidy denies any prior knowledge of the alleged poll question and told HuffPost that "this time of year, people are polling on everything and include other races and issues in their polls."
"If I jumped up and down screaming every time someone asked some nasty question about me, I'd be doing nothing else," Cassidy said. "I have, instead, stayed very focused on being the best representative I can be and running the most positive race that I can."
Despite the recent phone survey dustup, the race has -- mostly -- avoided much in the way of juicy, "Chicago-style" politics. This is most likely the result of the fact that, on paper, it would be difficult to discern all that much of a difference between the two progressive Democrats' positions on key legislative issues facing the state.
Both women are in favor of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's recent call for a statewide handgun registry -- a proposal that Governor Pat Quinn admitted will face "an uphill climb" toward passage. Cassidy told HuffPost she is co-sponsoring the registry legislation and has introduced companion legislation upgrading the penalty for giving or selling a weapon to a known street gang member with a weapon to a Class 1 felony.
"In my neighborhood, they're hunting young men with handguns. When one of those weapons is lost or stolen or used in a crime, having the information is invaluable to law enforcement," Cassidy said.
For her part, Basta said, "We see what happens with gun violence in our community," adding, "and if we can somehow curb that and prevent even one more person from being killed or hurt, that's what we need to do."
On Emanuel's Chicago speed cameras bill, signed into law by Gov. Quinn last week, both described the measure as one that would help protect public safety -- even as Cassidy admitted she was "initially very skeptical" of the bill. To Basta, the bill "makes sense."
And on LGBT issues, both are enthusiastic supporters. Basta was inducted in 2009 to the Chicago Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame in recognition of her LGBT advocacy. Cassidy is now one of just three openly gay or lesbian state lawmakers -- the trio of which earlier this month introduced a bill that would bring marriage equality to Illinois.
Cassidy took her support of that bill a step further, introducing two other pieces of pro-LGBT legislation last week -- one that would add gender identity as a protected status under the state's hate crime law and another that would create the state's own Family and Medical Leave Act and would cover couples registered for civil unions (who are currently denied such benefits).
Presented with two candidates with comparable records on gay issues, a PAC representing Equality Illinois, the state's primary LGBT advocacy group, made the curious move to not endorse Basta, who served on its board for several years.
Instead, rather than endorsing both candidates as they had in two other state legislative races, the organization threw its support exclusively behind Cassidy.
All things being equal in a political race, Randy Hannig, Equality Illinois director of public policy explained, the organization tends to endorse the incumbent when this can serve as a means of thanking that person for aligning with the group's legislative agenda.
"I wish there was a way to have them both represent us in the House of Representatives but that is not the way the cookie crumbles," Hannig said, after adding that her group's endorsement was "nothing personal" against Basta.
When asked whether the non-endorsement from her former colleagues was disappointing, Basta said, "That process is their process."
On Tuesday, Basta not so subtly lashed out anew against her opponent with the unveiling of a 10-point ethics pledge which, among other proposals, calls for voters to be allowed to choose who fills a vacancy, such as Osterman's last year, "rather than letting party bosses make their own appointment."
Basta also hopes to institute "a sensible limit on the number of years" someone can hold any public office -- a point perhaps intended to call out veteran House Speaker Mike Madigan, whose statehouse tenure dates to 1970 and who, along with other influential Chicago political figures such as Mayor Emanuel, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and Senate President John Cullerton, has also supported Cassidy in the race.
Candidate Basta described their support as an alliance with a system that is "broken," and said that electing her would bring "true independence to Springfield." "Speaker Madigan and Mayor Emanuel threw a birthday party for her in November," she said about Cassidy. "What else can you say?" Basta continued.
But Cassidy, who was a long-time assistant in the Cook County State's Attorney's office and also once ran Cullerton's district office, described such clout-heavy names as "the people who have seen me work for the last 20 years and seen me get things done and deliver results."
"I am the original nobody nobody sent," Cassidy added. "I don't shrink away from a fight and the fight I am engaged in is to make sure this district gets the best representation in Springfield it can."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/16/kelly-cassidy-paula-basta_n_1280197.html

Festival of Rights LGBT Groups Talk Rise in AIDS and Legal Victories

More than 5,000 people turned out to support Santa Barbara’s LGBT community last Saturday for the annual Pacific Pride Festival. The event at Leadbetter Beach was part of a five-day citywide celebration hosted by the Pacific Pride Foundation, which is the largest LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) organization between San Francisco and Los Angeles that offers services to HIV/AIDS patients. The foundation was joined by a host of other LGBT advocacy groups including Santa Maria’s GRACE (Gay Rights Activists for Change & Equality), as well as members of the First Congregational and Unitarian churches, there to demonstrate that many communities of faith embrace gays and lesbians.

The event marks a moment when a number of California LGBT foundations are struggling to provide aid and support. Pacific Pride lost $750,000 in state money two years ago when Governor Schwarzenegger eliminated AIDS funding for small and mid-size counties. “It really decimated our budgets,” said David Selberg, executive director of Pacific Pride. “I had to lay off half our staff.” Before the cuts, Santa Barbara County averaged two new AIDSinfections a year. In the last four months alone, the foundation has seen 12 new infections. “These are young people, these are two pregnant women, these are UCSB students—these aren’t just [LGBT community members],” said Selberg. Pacific Pride’s nurses and social workers are paid with donor dollars. Other organizations haven’t been as lucky attracting outside help. Selberg pointed to the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance, which is closing its doors at the end of this month due to lack of funding.

Despite the budget crunch, LGBT communities across the country recently celebrated a number of legal victories: The approval of civil unions in Rhode Island, same-sex marriage in New York, and a UN resolution endorsing LGBT rights. Just last week, a federal appeals court ordered the Defense Department to stop enforcing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Still, only six states currently allow same-sex marriage. California’s Proposition 8, eliminating gay marriage, remains embroiled in legal challenges. Passed in 2008, the bill was struck down by a federal district court and now drifts in limbo.

Selberg spoke about the need for more youth outreach to make communities as a whole more accepting of LGBTindividuals. As the trial of Brandon McInerney unfolds in nearby Ventura County—McInerney allegedly shot and killed a transgender classmate during school—the notion that Santa Barbara is ahead of the curve, said Selberg, understates the real animosity that many people in the area still feel. “I can’t tell you the number of kids in our youth groups who get bullied or bashed,” said Selberg, who receives angry phone calls and hate mail on a regular basis.

Pacific Pride works with teachers and high schools to improve support systems for LGBT students, but Selberg believes that even with available counselors, the lack of dialogue within public schools only undermines their efforts. “Teachers want to talk about our movement with other movements. They just don’t have language for it,” Selberg said, referring to a bill passed by the California State Assembly last week. If signed by the governor, it would require schools to include American LGBT contributions in history textbooks. “I think if it’s in a textbook, and they’re able to have a discussion about Harvey Milk or the Stonewall [riots], it facilitates that conversation,” said Selberg.

The foundation is also training law enforcement, an area of support Selberg said is sorely lacking. “Oftentimes we’re afraid to approach law enforcement. And so bullying and hate crimes are grossly underreported in our community,” he said. Many victims of hate crimes come to Selberg or Pacific Pride Foundation personally but do not want to report incidents to the authorities. With the help of a gay officer and volunteer, the foundation recently held a workshop with the police department with the hope of improving the way officers reach out to the community.

Similarly, Selberg emphasized the need for the gay community to assert itself in a positive way. “It’s the old Harvey Milk thing. If we all came out, this issue would be over,” he explained. “And those that are most fearful of us need to meet us, get to know us. We’re not scary people. We don’t want special rights, we don’t want separate but equal rights, we just want the same rights. It’s pretty basic.”

http://independent.com/news/2011/jul/13/festival-rights/