29 Jan 2013 If We Are Truly Created Equal Andrew Sullivan McCain says that bi-national gay spouses being

ripped apart or being forced to l ive abroad isn't of "paramount Chris Geidner and Zeke Miller report that the president feels differently: Same-sex couples will be a part of the proposal for addressing immigration refor m that President Obama is scheduled to unveil Tuesday in Las Vegas, BuzzFeed has confirmed with multiple sources familiar with the White House plan. A Democrati c source said: "Same-sex couples will be part of his proposal." A second source confirmed that, unlike the Senate framework released Monday, same-sex bi-nationa l couples those with one American and one foreign partner will be included in th e White House principles. That's a huge achievement for those of us committed to Immigration Equality (I'm on the board). And a great and important statement from the president. Margaret Hartmann fears that bringing "gay rights and religious freedom into the debate sounds like a good way to make sure immigration reform never passes." I do not s ee how religious freedom can in any way be affected by allowing Glenn Greenwald to live in the US with his partner. Adam Clark Estes zooms out: No matter what happens from here on out, it's becoming apparent that the gay rig hts movement is about to latch on to the push for immigration reform. And why sh ouldn't they? The point of reform is to fix things that are broken, and as the c ountry moves towards greater equality for people of all sexual orientations, why should same sex couples be left out? Well, it could get tricky. If the conversa tion turns too sharply in the direction of gay rights, the larger immigration re form process could get bogged down or even stuck in the mud completely. "Latch onto"? We've been insisting on being included in comprehensive immigratio n reform for years. Comprehensive means, well, you all know what it means. And t he real pain and anguish of gay binational couples, forced apart, or forced to l ive abroad, may not be of paramount importance to John McCain, but they are of p aramount importance to someone whose marriage can be torn apart by an immigratio n official. John Aravosis sees a less fraught opportunity: Republicans are desperate for immigration reform. And embracing gay rights is a political plus, not a minus, for Democrats, as the President has already learned . Combining the two is a win-win for everyone. Does anyone really think the Rep ublicans are going to risk killing the very thing they re now most desperate for? Of course, if DOMA didn't exist, none of this would be necessary at all. But as one half of a bi-national married couple, in a Western world where almost every other country recognizes our relationship in some respect in terms of immigratio n, all I can say is that keeping a committed couple together in America, regardl ess of their orientation, should be of "paramount importance" to the government of the United States. Because family life is integral to the immigration laws in this country, and gay people are not only part of families but also makers and defenders of them. Or to put it another way: If we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another mus t be equal as well.

Either we are equal as human beings and citizens or we are not. Maybe McCain doe s not see civil equality as important in a liberal constitutional republic. I ca n't see anything more important. http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2013/01/moving-towards-immigration-equal ity.html