Gore Calls For Lesbian And Gay Immigration Rights
Lesbian & Gay Immigration Rights Task Force
Applause due the Vice President for his stance against immigration discrimination
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Vice President Al Gore, at a forum sponsored by MTV, called for granting gays and lesbians the same immigration rights as heterosexual married couples.
In a response to a question about immigration rights for lesbian and gay couples, Gore stated: "The rights that are afforded an American who gets married to someone from another country should be afforded under a legally protected civic union in the same way."
Gore's statement came during an MTV "Choose or Lose" town hall at the University of Michigan.
"Lesbian and gay binational couples are constantly torn apart by discriminatory U.S. immigration laws," said Suzanne Goldberg, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force. "We applaud the Vice President and look forward to working with him to secure for all Americans -- gay and non-gay alike -- the right to be together with the person they love."
14 countries including the United Kingdom, Israel and South Africa (but not the U.S.) recognize lesbian and gay partnerships for the purposes of immigration. In February, United States Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced legislation that would provide to same-sex couples all the privileges that currently accrue to legal spouses under federal immigration law. The bill, called the Permanent Partners Immigration Act of 2000 (HR-3650) currently has 53 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.
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