Bi-Nationals

HELLO DR. BILL-- What do you think of the new law that has gone into effect in Arizona? I believe that this may be the catalyst we need in the LGBT community to push for the long overdo Immigration Reform Bill. As it stands there are about 37,000 people in this country that are part of a Bi National Couple, where the person here in the states has a partner in another country that they can't sponsor because they are considered "legal strangers". I am one of those people that has a partner that can not become a part of this country because of this law. I am writing to you to see what you think about all this and to ask if there is anything you could do to really help get the word out there even more about this issue concerning all of us in the states that are affected by these laws.

First, those interested can read more about this issue here [Lez-Get-Real] and here [Lambda Legal].

I think this is another reason why marriage equality is so important. Gay relationships -- even between domestic partners -- are still not seen as equal to straight relationships, and they must be.

It's a horrible situation that same-sex couples must remain separated because they are not seen as viable partners. Immigration reform, along with marriage equality, should be at the top of the gay political agenda.

Hopefully those couples who are now separated can someday in the not-too-far future live proud lives together.

More on this issue and what you can do in a future post.