Senators Call On State Dept. To Amend New Visa Policy
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Chris Coons (D-DE) led a group of their colleagues in calling on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to amend a new Department policy that will halt the provision of diplomatic visas for unmarried, same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and employees posted to the United States or at U.S.-based international organizations.
“To bar LGBTQ diplomats from bringing their partners to the United States is to condone the discriminatory policies of many countries around the world,” wrote the Senators. “This new rule discriminates against diplomats from countries where same-sex marriage is still illegal. This new policy could not only deter foreign diplomats from bringing their families to the United States, but threatens the progress made on this front.”
U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ben Cardin (D-MD) Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Edward Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Tina Smith (D-MN) joined Casey, Merkley and Coons in this effort.
A full copy of the letter can be found here.
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