ACT NOW to Help LGBT Bi-national Families

Dear Terrence, When I think of words from the Founding Fathers that resonate most with me, the ones that always come to my mind are “… life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” I know different people have varying interpretations of that phrase, but for me it means that we are all have the liberty to pursue the things that make us happy. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find any feeling American who thinks that finding and building a family with the one you love doesn’t fall in the “pursuit of happiness” category. Yet, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families are torn apart every day because their foreign-born spouses/partners and their children can’t be sponsored for residency. The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) would end this heartbreaking practice and allow LGBT Americans to sponsor their partners/spouses and children for U.S. residency. Urge your Members of Congress to be an original cosponsor the Uniting American Families Act. Now is the time to act. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) have announced that they will re-introduce UAFA in the upcoming weeks. We need to increase the record number of cosponsors over last year’s numbers (136 in the House of Representatives, 26 in the Senate) to show Congress that they must act to stop LGBT families from being torn apart by unfair immigration laws. When you send your letter, add your testimonials, personal experiences and points of view – they are an extremely powerful way to let Congress know how critical passage of UAFA is for our families. Send a letter to your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators urging them to cosponsor the Uniting American Families Act when it is introduced in the upcoming weeks. Giving people a fair chance at the American dream – and at happiness – is a core value in our country. UAFA insures that all families have the opportunity to achieve that dream. Please write your Members of Congress today and urge them to cosponsor UAFA; they need to hear from you. Yours in equality, Michael Mitchell

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