Tag Archives: gay

We’re Quitting the USA

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Image © heinrick05 @ Flickr

 

Well, Justin and I started the ball rolling tonight to officially quit the United States of America.  We have been discussing for some time now on our future and where it should lead.  While things in the USA have been slowly getting better in terms of gay rights, we need to think a little further outside the box.  Note that this does not mean that I will be giving up my status as an US citizen nor would we abandon the country.  Although we are just now starting this process, we would not be leaving the country until the end of 2012 or early 2013.

Canada provides many opportunities that we are unable to obtain here in the US.

  1. We can file jointly as a common-law union which would allow us to be recognized as a couple with sufficient financial and legal history.
  2. Upon receiving a permanent residency acceptance, we would be granted full rights (except the ability to vote and ability to obtain a passport) which is granted to every Canadian citizen.
  3. We could easily get married once we entered the country with zero issues.
  4. The Canadian life is similar to that of the US although there are obviously going to be differences – especially since our most likely destination is Québec (French Canada).

Obviously there are some things which must be considered.  Primarily, this is a life-changing commitment.  It is certainly not one to be taken lightly and it must be seriously considered from all angles.  After our first contact with the chosen lawyer, we found that applying as a Québec Skilled Worker is the best option for me.  This would be the best option for us as Québec is the only province that still allows IT as a listed category for skilled workers for immigration.

One large item which of course must be considered when entering any part of Canada, let alone Québec, is that the French language is a large part of their society.  As Québec is where we would be arriving and would be starting our new future, we have already started to learn the basics of the French language.

So, where does this go from here?  Well, since we just submitted the first payment to the lawyer tonight, tomorrow we will start working with the law firm and will go from there.

Naturally, with such an important and life-changing decision, everything related to this must be considered carefully.  I will be posting regular updates here as information becomes available.

 

Gay marriage across the states

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Gay marriage is an issue which is coming up in several states right now.  Let’s briefly talk about two of those states.

First, we’ll start with Iowa.  Iowa legalized gay marriage on April 9, 2009 through their Supreme Court by a (I believe) unanimous decision.  It was a shocker to many because so far, it has only been the New England states which have acknowledged that I’m actually a human being who deserves the rights given to every other person in the country.  However, not long after it was legalized in Iowa, the crazies, such as NOM, started to fire back harder against the Court.  In the last election, several of the justices were removed by the voters.  This is now leading to possible repeal of gay marriage in Iowa.  I’ll let Iowa Grandmother Jean Argus take it from here.  Jean?

Well said Jean.  Justin and I haven’t made it to 30 years yet, but then we’re only 26 now.  We have however made it to 3.5 years and see our future together to be very strong.

Moving to another state, let’s shift the focus to Indiana.  Indiana is the state in which I was born, raised and have lived my entire life thus far.  However, that will be changing in the (somewhat) near future.  Once I move from this state I know that I will never be moving back.

I was born and raised in Union Mills, Indiana.  It’s a small town in the northwestern part of the state.  I went to school at South Central Community School Corporation.  It is a K-12 school which is self-contained in one building.  After I graduated with Academic Honors, I went to college locally at Purdue North Central.  Once I graduated college with my Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Information Systems Technology, I worked in several fields before eventually moving to West Lafayette to be with my boyfriend, Justin.  I simultaneously obtained my current position as UNIX/Mac Desktop Support Specialist for the Physics Department of Purdue University.  Purdue is a great place to work.  It is an inclusive place to work.  While the state may not recognize who I am, I have Justin included on several of my health benefits as a recognized same-sex domestic partnership.  I am completely out at work and make no effort at all to hide it.  I have pictures of us both up all over my cubicle and we both are in a picture together with Pres. Cordova from last year’s Purdue Challenge.

However, Indiana is looking to push me out of the state and guarantee that I’ll never come back thanks to blatant discrimination.  Indiana already does not allow gay marriage thanks to the passage of DOMA at the state-level back in the late 90′s.  They’re looking to further grind that into the ground through House Joint Resolution 6, 2011.  This so far has passed two house discussions and will head to the Senate soon.  After that it will be up for discussion again in both segments and then will head to the voters where it will almost definitely be passed due to the mostly Republican nature of the state.

As I stated in a comment recently to the Journal and Courier, I find it appalling that the state in which I was born, raised and have lived my life, my home, is so sick as to write hate and discrimination directly into the state constitution.  This is the first time that this has been done in this state.  It is also sick because there are real issues that need to be resolved in this state such as a failing education system, budget deficit, etc.  However, let’s further discriminate against a group of people who just want to be recognized for loving one another.  A group of people who are no different from anyone else except for what goes on in the bedroom.  A group of people who are allowed to die for this country, pay for this country and state, support this country and state through the health care industry, education system, public works, etc yet are constantly being told that we are second-class citizens who deserve less than those standing right next to us.

It is truly sickening and disheartening indeed.

[pdf versions of the above two links for archival purposes]
Joint Resolution 0006
Journal & Courier Feb 13 Rapid Response

Proposition Infinity

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This week’s Futurama episode, Proposition Infinity, dealt with a very serious topic in a comedic way.

Robosexual marriage.

In seriousness though, the episode took the entire gay marriage mess going on now, applied it to robot-human relationships and poked massive fun at it.  I think one of the best parts was when they had basically their own version of the ad that NOM put out against gay marriage.

At the end of the episode, it was deemed legal to have a robosexual marriage, which is where the country is gladly headed in today’s world as well in regards to homosexuals.  An interesting item as well is that yesterday, the same day the episode aired, a Federal Judge declared Section 3 of DOMA to be unconstitutional, a massive step forward in true equality.

Wedding bells… or not.

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Recently, Justin and I have been discussing more and more about getting married. A few months ago Corey and Danielle announed that they were getting married next September 25. I am very happy for them and glad that Danielle will become part of the family.

The talk of marriage brought me back to wanting to get married to Justin. Sadly, because of the state of the country and with the current laws, that’s not quite as simple for us. Along with getting married to really express our love for each other, we thought that it be good for his future also in that it may help when he graduates in order to try and stay in the USA.

However, our dreams were pretty much crushed this weekend when we started looking into things far more closely.

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