We Do! by Madeleine M. Kunin

Author:Madeleine M. Kunin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Akashic Books
Published: 2013-09-12T04:00:00+00:00

SENATOR TAMMY BALDWIN (1962–)

Fourteen years after being the first openly lesbian member of Congress, Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay US senator (in 2012). In 1993, she called for her home state of Wisconsin to legalize gay marriage. That hasn’t happened yet, but Baldwin’s progressive record is a beacon for her colleagues. Her letter to leadership, printed below, reveals how far-reaching the issue of gay marriage is in American politics.

Dear President Obama

Senator Tammy Baldwin

February 2, 2010

Dear President Obama, Majority Leader Reid, Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Schumer, and Chairwoman Lofgren:

As members of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, we are writing to express our strong support for a comprehensive immigration reform bill which would end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) binational families.

We urge Congress to include the Uniting American Families Act (H.R. 1024, S. 424) in any comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

Currently, US citizens and legal permanent residents may sponsor their spouses (and other immediate family members) for immigration purposes. But, same-sex partners committed to spending their lives together are not recognized as “families” under US immigration law and thus do not have this same right. As a result, tens of thousands of binational families are either already living separately, face imminent separation, or have left the US entirely in order to remain together. This is unacceptable, and we believe comprehensive immigration reform legislation must include a strong family reunification component inclusive of LGBT families.

According to 2000 census data compiled by the Williams Institute, an estimated thirty-six thousand LGBT binational families are impacted by the inability to sponsor their partners for residency, and nearly half of those (47 percent) are raising children. Our existing, discriminatory immigration laws hurt not only those individuals, but their extended families, communities, and employers, as well. Not only would an inclusive family reunification provision strengthen American families, it would bolster the competitiveness of businesses in the US by allowing corporations to attract, employ, and retain the very best talent from across the globe. Indeed, the US lags behind nineteen countries that already recognize same-sex couples for immigration purposes, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, and Germany.

In truth, no immigration reform bill can be called “comprehensive” unless it includes all Americans, including those who are LGBT. This is recognized in the Reuniting Families Act (H.R. 2709), which includes LGBT families in addressing the broader immigration problem of family unification.

We urge you to include LGBT binational families in comprehensive immigration reform legislation. No one should be forced to choose between the person they love and the country they call home. It is time that our immigration laws kept families together instead of tearing them apart.

Sincerely,

Tammy Baldwin, Congresswoman from Wisconsin

(cosigned by fifty-nine fellow members of Congress)

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