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Despite Republican Hypocrisy – California Senate Judiciary Committee Supports UAFA Resolution

Posted by: Lez Get Real on June 10, 2010.

6-10-2010 Melanie Nathan.

Today, together with Amos Lim of Out4Immigration and at the behest of Assembly member Kevin de Leon and under sponsorship of EQCA, I had the great honor of testifying to the California State Senate Judiciary Committee for AJR 15, a Resolution in support of Uniting American Families Act, which made it out with 3 votes in favor and at least one opposition vote. The second Republican member was not present but may have shown up later to cast his vote; regardless a 3:2 victory sends the resolution to an almost certain passage in the California Senate. State Resolutions in California do not require the signature of a Governor.

This was my 2.5 minute testimony:

Madam Chair and Honorable Members of this Committee, Assembly member De Leon, thank you for this opportunity to tell my story, personifying that of tens of thousands of other binational same-sex permanent partners, many of whom are from California, either living in undocumented fear, exiled to a foreign country or in detention awaiting deportation.

Nine years ago I fell in love with Dorit Israel who came to the USA as a student. We married in July 2008, during California’s window of opportunity. We have a daughter born of this relationship and I have 13 year old daughter from a previous relationship, in a shared custody arrangement.

Because lesbian and gay partners are excluded by Federal law, I was unable to sponsor Dorit for a green card. We faced untold hardship; and on 4 occasions during our process, I was faced with a choice that no American or Mother should ever have to bear; – leaving my home, my country, my mortgage and my business to go to a foreign country where I do not speak the language or have any viable prospects of survival, paled in comparison to having to choose between my two beloved daughters. If I were to leave my country, I would have been forced to choose between my spouse and our child, ahead of my first born. If I chose to stay with my 13 year old, I would be separated from my spouse and my little one. Worse yet, these young American Citizen Sisters would also be torn apart.

I was not able to make the choice – there WAS no plan B.

To explain what we went through would take too much time, save to say that with the help of Senator Feinstein, we were lucky and finally able to rely on an R1 Visa, after hurdles such as the sunset of the very process upon which we relied.

Had we been a different gender couple our $72,000 five year nightmare would have been over in mere months costing no more than $1500.00.

While our case ended with a remedy, many do not. It is for them that I am here. Through my advocacy for other couples I am privy to many cases of hardship, the brain drain of California doctors, lawyers, Professors, PhD’s and entrepreneurs; the waste of resources and the unconscionable injustice.

The State of California recognizes gay and lesbian couples through equality legislation, yet this great anomaly exists, where but for the passage of The Uniting American Families Act, the equality laws in California are useless to bi-national couples.

I believe that passage of AJR 15, will send an imperative message to Washington D.C. – California cares about its families and that this situation is simple intolerable.

Before the vote, Senator Mark Leno made a very moving and supportive statement about the hardship and the lack of immigration equality for binational same-sex couples. He ended his remarks by saying that after what he heard, he could not fathom anyone single person VOTING NO to the passage of the Resolution which supports laws keeping California families together.

The Republican Tom Harmon (California’s 35th District) when asked his vote bellowed a resolute “NO.”

Of course I expected no thing different, but surely he may have had an excuse a reason? So when he walked out of the Chamber, I ran after him. I told him I was curious about why he had voted no. He looked at me and snapped loudly “I don’t have time for that now.” I then asked him if I could make an appointment to see him so he could explain at a later date or time. Again he snapped, viciously, “I will NOT do that.”

So there you have it California, Republicans truly do not care about Californian families and their children.

Based on this, I deduce that if Harmon and the other lockstep Republicans purport at anytime on the future to be concerned about California Families, then such solicitude is tantamount to saying “I hate Gays.”

That said, Republican Meg Whitman now in the race for Governor and Carly Fiorina, in the race for incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer’s Senate seat, have all openly subscribed to this ant-gay equality stance. To my way of thinking, mere campaign statement by these candidates are tantamount to the offensive and upsetting Bullhorn “NO” VOTE we heard today.

Note: Senator Boxer is a Co-Sponsor of UAFA, The Uniting American Families Act.

Thank you to Assembly member Kevin De Leon, Senator Mark Leno for co sponsoring the UAFA Resolution in California as well as our host EQCA with Mario Guerrero at the helm.

The Hypocrisy of “NO”

6/1/2010 – California Senate urges the federal government to quit ignoring the immigration problem.

Harman’s Floor Speech for Immigration Resolution, SCR 108 from CA Senate Republican Caucus on Vimeo.

Senator Harman’s Senate Concurrent Resolution 108 (SCR 108), a bi-partisan measure urging the federal government to act immediately on federal immigration law cleared the Senate today. In a landmark display of unity, Senator Gil Cedillo, a leading immigrant rights activist in the Senate, spoke in strong support of the legislation, agreeing with Senator Harman on the importance of immediate federal action. The measure passed 31 to 1.

“We don’t agree on much here in the legislature, but I am glad we can agree that the federal government should, at a minimum, enforce existing immigration law,” said Harman. “With California facing a $20 billion dollar budget deficit, the legislature would be remiss to not demand action on a federal problem that costs California taxpayers upwards of $10 billion a year.”

Money Is above People..Money Money Money!!!

After today’s vote, Clearly Tom Harmon does not support UAFA ‘s inclusion in Federal Immigration Reform Law