About
What’s with this blog, you’re wondering? You’re thinking that gays and lesbians have life pretty good nowadays, right? We’re not getting beat up as much and only a few murders each year. Less companies are firing us because we’re gay and even some Fortune 500 companies are giving us domestic partnership benefits now. We can get legally married in MA even though the federal government doesn’t recognize it as marriage. We just had a small setback of being constitionally discriminated against in 17 (is that the current count?) states recently. That’s all.
Well, here’s my reason: my girlfriend and I cannot live together in the U.S. Since my girlfriend is not an American citizen, she is prohibited from living long-term in the U.S. If my birth certificate had an “M” instead of an “F” then we could have gotten married and I could sponsor her for immigration rights. Even if we got married in MA, it would mean nothing since the federal gov doesn’t recognized it as a marriage. In fact, it would make things much worse since her chances at getting a tourist visa would plummet (gov would believe she had intents to stay in the U.S.).
Our solution? I am living in exile in her home country, Hong Kong, for the time being. Eventually we plan to immigrate to Canada where we can at least has some assurance of legal rights.
Besides my love for linguistics, interest in Chinese language and culture, new-found hobby with the open source software movement, fondness for cats, great appreciation of nature…I am also gravely concerned about the future of GLBT equality in the U.S. Last year, I finally made the decision to leave the U.S. so that I could be with the person I love. I never thought I would have to make a decision like this in my life. Nevertheless, this is the state which I find myself in. I have started this website because I wanted to let people know how the U.S. laws affect gay and lesbian people like me. I also want to encourage people to think about their stance on issues related to GLBT equality and inspire others to speak out against the current injustice. Furthermore, I specifically want to invite people who may disagree with me to read and comment on my reflections. I believe through honest dialogue we can bridge the gap of misunderstanding between the two sides of debate on GLBT equality.
I still hold hope that the laws in the U.S. will change and that my girlfriend and I could someday return to the U.S. to enjoy full and equal citizenship.
If you have a general comment about this website or questions, you can email me at alissa.m.harrison@gmail.com.
