I can't even begin to say
how incredible this is: gay Americans can now sponsor their
foreign-born husbands or wives for a greencard. What an amazing difference this
decision is making right now in the lives of so many thousands of people. The
first gay couple's greencard application has already been approved. Check out
this Advocate article about it all.
For
me, this is so personal. I have my greencard now and I'm not married, but
just to know that this is now an option for gay people just like it has been
for straight people all this time is an amazing feeling. I almost
find it hard to believe, as I spent so many years under the constant
stress of not knowing if I would be able to stay in this country. I'm not going
to admit to having married a woman for my greencard in the late 90s (in fact I
will deny it -- that is not how I got my greencard) but I know so many people
who were forced to take those steps, and when my student visa was expiring and
I needed to figure out a way to be able to stay with my boyfriend in New York,
I certainly didn't see anything wrong with marrying a woman
(especially considering the unfair laws and that we had a
president, Clinton, who himself didn't mind lying under oath -- something one
would have to do in that immigration interview).
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| Sarah (Jane Elliott) and Marcel (Justin Tensen) lying through their teeth during their greencard interview in Between Love & Goodbye (2008). |
Anyway, a few years ago I made a movie about a couple going through this ordeal. In Between Love & Goodbye (which, since a few days ago, is now a total period piece!) French Marcel marries his lesbian friend Sarah to be able to stay in the US with his American boyfriend Kyle. In case you haven't seen it, Between Love & Goodbye is a drama and doesn't have quite the Hollywood-ending most of my romantic comedies are known for. Once when asked what films I would compare it to, I said its a mixture of the movies Greencard, War of the Roses, and A Streetcar Named Desire -- but more gay. So if you know any of those films you know things won't necessarily end that well. For me it's bittersweet to think of how differently things might have turned out for Kyle and Marcel, and for the people who inspired them, if they instead had met and fallen in love in this day and age.
Happy Pride 2013!
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| Empire State Building, Pride Weekend 2013 |
