Marjorie Cohn to me
Mon, Nov 10, 2008 at 6:22 PM
Dear Robert,
Thanks so much for your kind email. I live in California and am devastated at the results of Prop 8. I have been doing radio interviews about it and will also write about it soon.
Best regards,
Marjorie
Monday, November 10, 2008
Riddle to M. Cohn re Human Rights
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2008 10:32 AM
Subject: Re: A really nice NY Times article on the election results, Frank Rich
Dear Ms. Cohn,
Thank you for your informative, educational, and interesting article on the opportunities presented by our next Presidency, to improve human rights and to bring the country forward to embrace again, in law, some of our highest and often-stated values.
Since you indicated you'll present a series of articles on the topic, I'm writing to ask that you consider addressing another human rights issue in your series: discrimination against lesbian and gay Americans and their families.
The cruelties in this type of discrimination admittedly may seem far afield in comparison to torture, extra-judicial imprisonment, flagrant violations of our Constitution, and spying on Americans. But, the basis is just as wrong (in the failure to separate church and state, and the failure to provide equal protection under the law), and the impact can be just as traumatic.
As a gay, middle-aged American and a Federal Government employee, I know many who have stories of both overt and covert anti-gay discrimination in the workplace, but who have had NO legal recourse. Those who have tried legal remedies have, like all whistle blowers, frequently suffered severe and life-altering consequences. As an attorney I'm sure you know it is fully permissible, legally, to discriminate against gays and lesbians in all but a few local jurisdictions in this country, and discrimination is written into Federal Law with the Defense of Marriage Act, among others.
Additionally, my own family suffers another layer of discrimination, because of the fact my partner is not a U.S. citizen and is the same sex as myself.
Whereas my brother met and married a Swedish woman, who within weeks of marriage had a green card, and could seek and find employment, I have partnered with an Indian man, who came to this country not to find love but to get a Master's Degree, on full scholarship. Neither my brother nor his wife have a college degree, compared to my partner who has two and is now working on a doctorate, also on full scholarship, and myself with one. It is inequitable that the family I have formed cannot, unlike my brother's, simply begin our lives together. And it is shortsighted economic and immigration policy that such a talented man as my partner, who could contribute so much to the life and health of this nation, suffers this kind of discrimination.
Unlike my brother and his wife, my partner and I cannot marry because if we did, immigration authorities could deport him immediately, since marriage is a demonstration of intent to stay, which is specifically prohibited under his visa. If he were to apply for a different visa status, he would have to leave the country, with no guarantee of an ability to return. If we were to move together to another nation which DOES recognize same-sex families under the law, like Canada, we will inevitably loose economic status in the transition because it will mean having to begin life all over again, in a new country, with me in the middle-to-late part of my career.
Although President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, enshrining anti-gay discrimination in Federal law, Candidate Obama said he'd like to see it ended. He likewise indicated a desire to lift Clinton's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy on gay military service, which has, predictably, been irregularly and arbitrarily enforced throughout the armed services since its inception, to this country's detriment. As Senator, Obama has not cosponsored the Uniting American Families Act, nor has he responded to requests to do so. But these are certainly important areas, impacting the lives of many Americans, where a re-dedication to human rights by our President and his White House will make a difference.
I hope you'll consider including these topics as you write about opportunities. Thank you so much.
Sincerely,
Robert Riddle
Subject: Re: A really nice NY Times article on the election results, Frank Rich
Dear Ms. Cohn,
Thank you for your informative, educational, and interesting article on the opportunities presented by our next Presidency, to improve human rights and to bring the country forward to embrace again, in law, some of our highest and often-stated values.
Since you indicated you'll present a series of articles on the topic, I'm writing to ask that you consider addressing another human rights issue in your series: discrimination against lesbian and gay Americans and their families.
The cruelties in this type of discrimination admittedly may seem far afield in comparison to torture, extra-judicial imprisonment, flagrant violations of our Constitution, and spying on Americans. But, the basis is just as wrong (in the failure to separate church and state, and the failure to provide equal protection under the law), and the impact can be just as traumatic.
As a gay, middle-aged American and a Federal Government employee, I know many who have stories of both overt and covert anti-gay discrimination in the workplace, but who have had NO legal recourse. Those who have tried legal remedies have, like all whistle blowers, frequently suffered severe and life-altering consequences. As an attorney I'm sure you know it is fully permissible, legally, to discriminate against gays and lesbians in all but a few local jurisdictions in this country, and discrimination is written into Federal Law with the Defense of Marriage Act, among others.
Additionally, my own family suffers another layer of discrimination, because of the fact my partner is not a U.S. citizen and is the same sex as myself.
Whereas my brother met and married a Swedish woman, who within weeks of marriage had a green card, and could seek and find employment, I have partnered with an Indian man, who came to this country not to find love but to get a Master's Degree, on full scholarship. Neither my brother nor his wife have a college degree, compared to my partner who has two and is now working on a doctorate, also on full scholarship, and myself with one. It is inequitable that the family I have formed cannot, unlike my brother's, simply begin our lives together. And it is shortsighted economic and immigration policy that such a talented man as my partner, who could contribute so much to the life and health of this nation, suffers this kind of discrimination.
Unlike my brother and his wife, my partner and I cannot marry because if we did, immigration authorities could deport him immediately, since marriage is a demonstration of intent to stay, which is specifically prohibited under his visa. If he were to apply for a different visa status, he would have to leave the country, with no guarantee of an ability to return. If we were to move together to another nation which DOES recognize same-sex families under the law, like Canada, we will inevitably loose economic status in the transition because it will mean having to begin life all over again, in a new country, with me in the middle-to-late part of my career.
Although President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, enshrining anti-gay discrimination in Federal law, Candidate Obama said he'd like to see it ended. He likewise indicated a desire to lift Clinton's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy on gay military service, which has, predictably, been irregularly and arbitrarily enforced throughout the armed services since its inception, to this country's detriment. As Senator, Obama has not cosponsored the Uniting American Families Act, nor has he responded to requests to do so. But these are certainly important areas, impacting the lives of many Americans, where a re-dedication to human rights by our President and his White House will make a difference.
I hope you'll consider including these topics as you write about opportunities. Thank you so much.
Sincerely,
Robert Riddle
Obama Spells New Hope for Human Rights, by Marjorie Cohn, Truthout
see:
http://www.truthout.org/111008J
http://www.truthout.org/111008J
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