With immigration reform once again taking center stage on Capitol Hill, advocates are cautiously optimistic that protections for same-sex families articulated by President Barack Obama will be included in comprehensive reform.
In a meeting with progressive leaders at the White House Feb. 5, Obama reaffirmed his commitment to a four-part plan for reform unveiled during a speech in Las Vegas late last month. Those who participated in the meeting described the president as upbeat and confident – and optimistic that this time will be different.
“We talked about the best possible strategy for moving this initiative forward and we’re moving quickly,” Janet Murguia, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, told reporters outside the West Wing of the White House. “We feel very strongly that there is a shared sense of urgency to move as quickly as possible and we believe the president has laid out the best possible framework to move forward.”
Previous attempts to reform the country’s immigration system have failed in recent years, with Democrats and Republicans failing to agree on key principles. Some of those differences remain today, but perhaps nowhere more visibly than on a provision supported by Obama that would allow gay Americans to sponsor their permanent partners for legal residency.
Obama’s proposal “treats same-sex families as families by giving U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents the ability to seek a visa on the basis of a permanent relationship with a same-sex partner,” according to an outline provided by the White House.
Although long sought by LGBT-rights advocates who have derided an immigration system that denies immigrants in relationships with Americans of the same-sex various protections, including eligibility for green cards, because the federal government does not recognize such relationships, the provision has already rankled some Republicans on Capitol Hill.
“Why don’t we just put legalized abortion in there and round it all out,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters last week.
According to the Family Equality Council, there are more than 36,000 binational same-sex couples living in the United States today. Nearly half of them are raising children. Without recognition of same-sex relationships in deportation proceedings, many of these families risk being torn apart.
The provision for same-sex families was missing from the outline of a plan unveiled last month by a bipartisan working group of senators on immigration reform, dubbed the “gang of eight.” Republican senators part of that group, including Graham and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who recently described inclusion of such rights as “not of paramount importance” and a “red flag,” have indicated any inclusion of rights for same-sex families threatens to sink the entire initiative.
“I think if that issue becomes the central issue in the debate it’s just going to make it harder to get it done because there’s going to be a lot of strong feelings about it on both sides,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), another member of the Senate’s “gang of eight,” during an interview with BuzzFeed’s Ben Smith Feb. 5. “I hope that doesn’t become the central issue of this debate, because the immigration issue has some significant land mines and pitfalls. This is going to be a pretty heavy lift to begin with.”
The White House and advocates, however, are digging in.
“If that is the excuse on which people are going to limit their support for immigration reform, they should be ashamed of themselves,” Rachel Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality, told Metro Weekly.
Tiven participated in the Feb. 5 meeting with Obama and said the White House is “unequivocally supportive and clearly committed to LGBT inclusion in immigration reform.”
“The president wouldn’t be wasting his time on a package that’s LGBT-inclusive if he didn’t think he could pass it,” Tiven added.
Although Obama has said he will introduce his own legislation if Congress does not act, the White House has not indicated how much he is willing to give on protecting binational same-sex couples.
White House press secretary Jay Carney has declined to say if Obama is willing to compromise on that particular provision of his plan, simply reiterating that Obama has “long believed that Americans with same-sex partners from other countries should not be faced with the painful choice between staying with the person they love or staying in the country they love.”
Speaking to reporters on a conference call Feb. 5, White House Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Muñoz did not say if Obama would introduce his own legislation if rights for same-sex couples are not included in Congress’s plan.
“Those of us who follow these issues, I think, can probably expect there’s going to be a vigorous debate if this legislation gets to the Hill, but the president’s position on this is very clear and is articulated in his principles,” Muñoz said.
While rights for same-sex couples may prove to be one of the most divisive aspects of immigration reform, supporters are keeping all options on the table.
On Feb. 5, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) reintroduced the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) with bipartisan support, and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is expected to introduce the same legislation in the Senate. Obama’s plan for immigration reform for same-sex couples mirrors UAFA, which would add the term “permanent partner” to sections of the Immigration and Naturalization Act and extend immigration rights currently enjoyed by straight couples.
According to a statement from Nadler, “[A]ny serious legislative proposal for comprehensive immigration reform absolutely must include gay and lesbian couples and their families.”
[Photo: Immigration reform advocates speak to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House after a Feb. 5 meeting with Obama (Credit: Justin Snow/Metro Weekly).]
Seattle's local organizing committee for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is moving ahead with a first-of-its-kind "Pride Match" at Lumen Field on June 26, coinciding with the city's Pride Weekend, even though the scheduled game will feature Iran and Egypt, two countries that criminalize homosexuality.
The Pride-adjacent branding was created by the host city, not FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, which has not endorsed the designation.
When FIFA was planning the match schedule, Seattle was in line to host either New Zealand versus Belgium or Egypt versus Iran on June 26. Vancouver ultimately received the New Zealand-Belgium game, leaving Seattle with Egypt versus Iran, reports Outsports.
Grindr has released its annual Grindr Unwrapped report, offering a snapshot of user trends and profile behaviors across the platform.
The report is split into two sections. The first draws on data from the gay dating app's more than 15 million monthly users, highlighting identity markers, sexual habits, fetishes, dating patterns, and connection styles.
The United States has been dubbed "Daddy Capital of the World" for the sheer number of users who tag themselves as "daddy" or list the subgroup under "My Tribes." Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada follow close behind.
Documentaries generally don't need an onscreen host. The camera can play host, and real-life stories can tell themselves, with offscreen prompting from research and production, and shrewd direction and editing providing context.
If a filmmaker wants to put the prompting onscreen, there's a delicate art to inserting themselves or an on-camera host into the story without stealing the spotlight from their subject.
Ryan Ashley Lowery, director and creator of the LGBTQ doc Light Up, is anything but delicate in inserting himself and two on-camera host-interviewers -- Michael Mixx and Maurice Eckstein -- into the film's still-compelling portrait of Atlanta's "community of Black same gender loving men and trans women."
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