Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) was forced to withhold critical amendments that would have added protections for gay & lesbian binational couples due to lack of support from his own party. We needed all the Democrats on the committee to support these amendments. Unfortunately it's appalling that Senators Schumer, Feinstein, Durbin & Franken sided with eight Republicans to ensure that the immigration bill moving forward is not LGBT inclusive, is not comprehensive & will discriminate against legally married gay & lesbian Americans with foreign spouses. The Democrats who sided with the Republicans - Schumer, Feinstein, Durbin & Franken have betrayed the very LGBT constituencies who have supported them throughout their political careers. It is questionable whether any of them would be in power today without our votes. Each of these leaders talks about marriage equality & ending discrimination against gay & lesbian Americans but when they had the chance to show they meant what they said, they failed the LGBT community & all Americans who believe in equality & fairness. After the vote Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez Co-Director of GetEqual stated, “Today it became clear that our so-called ‘friends’ don’t have the courage or the spine to stand up for what’s right. Democratic lawmakers are content to buy into the false choice that Republicans created — holding a sorely needed immigration bill hostage in order to cement inequality into law.” Let’s thank Senator Leahy for his courage in this uphill battle against bigotry & politicians like the Senators named above, along with Senators Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, Jeff Flake & John McCain, who insisted that the inclusion of mere 36,000 people would derail a bill that offers so much hope to more than 11 million. You can call him at 202-224-4242 or Twitter: @SenLeahy
For More Info: out4immigration.org
Listen: “The Real L Word” Somer Bingham Speaks OUT
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