Speak Out
I send e-mail (or faxes and letters generated via web) to my Senators and Congressfolk on a weekly basis. For the most part, I spare the esteemed jefftidball.com readership the details of these various advocacies. Today, however, while I was writing to oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment, I noticed another ACLU action item regarding immigration equality for same-sex partners.
When Decipher closed down the Los Angeles office, mine was far from the worst situation. Kieran, the illustrator whose work you can see in the archetype illustrations of the LotR RPG core book (and in a host of as-yet-unreleased Star Trek RPG books), was faced with a supremely crappy decision: Move to Norfolk to take a job illustrating TCGs for Decipher, or go back to Australia where he is a citizen. Legally speaking, the fact that his boyfriend Otto had just started school in Santa Monica was irrelevant. Because of strangenesses in the program by which visas are obtained, he could not remain in the country and look for another job. The legal straightjacket that descended on Kieran was — and remains — unconscionable. I believe he decided to take the job, and I presume Otto was forced to drop out of school as a result.
I encourage you to write your Senator and advocate for S. 1510, the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, co-sponsored by California Senator Barbara Boxer, which would help people in similar situations.
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