Trump state department denying visas for gay men
Trump Administration Denies Visas to Unmarried, Same-Sex Partners of Diplomats
Previously, the partners of diplomats were granted a diplomatic visa, allowing them to enter the nation. But now the Light House will deny these visa requests, claiming that the change is “to help ensure and promote equal treatment.”
Starting October 1, these couples must provide proof of marriage by the end of the year or depart the country within 30 days. Any partners that are planning to reach to the U.S. must similarly provide proof of marriage in order to be eligible for the diplomatic visa that allows them to enter the country. Foreign Policy, which first reported the story, estimates that as of this week at least 10 UN employees in the U.S. will be affected by the novel policy.
In a letter sent to UN delegates in July, the U.S. mission to the UN explained that “same-sex spouses of U.S. diplomats now enjoy the same rights and benefits as opposite-sex spouses. Consistent with [State] Department policy, partners accompanying members of permanent missions or seeking to participate the same must generally be married in arrange to be eligible” for the visa.
But critics of the policy say that it unfairly
Human Rights
Trump administration starts denying visas to lgbtq+ partners of diplomats and UN employees
By Lorelei Laird
The Trump administration has begun denying visas to the same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and UN officials, Foreign Policy reports.
Fortune, CBS News, and USA Today also have coverage.
The federal government says the policy—which went into effect Monday, the same day as the start of the federal government’s 2019 fiscal year—brings visa policies in line with U.S. law. Because queer marriage is legal in the Joined States, it says, diplomats in such relationships must conform to State Department policy requiring that everyone seeking to bring a companion with them into the United States on a diplomatic visa is married. Those already in the United States must show proof or marriage by the end of 2018 or exit the country within 30 days.
The diplomatic community is concerned that this advance will endanger homosexual couples from countries where such relationships are outlawed or frowned upon. Only 12 percent of UN member states permit same-sex marriage, according to former UN ambassador Samantha Power.
Power, who worked in the Obama admi
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Trump administration halts visas for unmarried homosexual partners of foreign diplomats
The Trump administration will no longer provide visas for same-sex domestic partners of foreign diplomats and U.N. officials serving in the U.S., a policy that went into effect Oct. 1.
Only if a lgbtq+ couple is married will the spouse be eligible for a visa, but that could validate problematic for some, as the majority of the world’s countries do not recognize same-sex marriages.
The decision is meant to “ensure and promote equal treatment,” according to a State Department representative, as heterosexual national partners of foreign diplomats are also not eligible for U.S. visas. That rule has been in effect since 2009, but the Trump administration is saying because lgbtq+ marriage is now legal in the U.S., it’s no longer necessary or fair.
The change also matches an update to the policy for U.S. diplomats in same-sex relationships, who must also be married in order to possess their spouse unite them in a post because lgbtq+ marriage is legal in the U.S. That change was initiated in 2015, according to senior administration officials, after same-sex marriage was legalized across the country
State Department's 1st openly male lover spokesperson sends signal to the world, advocates say
Just over two decades ago, President Bill Clinton had to use a recess appointment to install the first openly gay U.S. ambassador over Republican senators' opposition. Now, on Tuesday, the State Department's modern openly gay spokesperson will hold his first daily press briefing.
That the voice of the Biden administration on the world stage, whose words will be analyzed in foreign capitals and provide direction for U.S. diplomats overseas, will be a gay male is unremarkable, which is itself a remarkable thing.
It also sends a potent message to foreign LGBTQ activists, especially those fighting in countries where lgbtq+ relationships are still criminalized.
"It's incredibly important for homosexual people in countries where homosexuality and queerness is a death sentence," said Innanoshe Richard Akuson, a Nigerian LGBT rights activist and writer.
Ned Price is a longtime national security hand who spent over a decade at the CIA, including three years serving as the National Security Council spokesperson under President Barack Obama. He left the agency in February