Equal Marriage March and Rally in LA
On
Monday, Massachusetts is mandated to start allowing gay marriage.
ANSWER, Lambda Legal, and other coalitions rallied yesterday in support
of this, and there will be rallies across the country today and Monday.
There
is much that can be said, but the story of Jim and Marcus, pictured
speaking to the rally, says it all. They’ve been together 9 years and
recently married in San Francisco. Marcus is from Guatemala and has
been here since he is ten. An Immigration Court just turned down his
request for asylum, even though there was definitive proof that if he
was forced to return there, that he would face serious chance of death
or injury for being gay.
Were
they a hetero couple, there would be no problem, they would be married,
and Marcus could stay. And frankly, if Marcus was Scottish, I doubt
there would be a problem either.
Marriage
gives many rights, amng them inheiritance, medical benefits, hospital
visitation – and the right to stay in the US if married to a citizen.
For Marcus to be forced to return to a country he doesn’t know where he
will face serious danger simply because he is gay, not straight, is a
travesty of justice.