PRESS ADVISORY:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 13, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 13, 2012
Visual Protest Campaign to Raise Awareness about Same-Sex Binationals
Media Contacts:
Amos Lim, Out4Immigration, 415-742-1626, amos@out4immigration.org
Gina Caprio, Out4Immigration, 916-533-3618, gina@out4immigration.org
San Francisco, CA—February 13, 2012—Valentine’s Day is meant for couples to celebrate being together but that is impossible for Gina Caprio, who will spend the day separated from the love of her life by 5,000 miles, DOMA and discriminatory U.S. immigration laws.
Caprio, a U.S. citizen living in Sacramento, counts herself as half of one of the more than 36,000 same-sex binational couples who are denied the right to sponsor their foreign partner for a green card. This is a right that is accessible only to opposite-sex couples.
In spite of recent court rulings and state legislature wins for marriage equality in some states, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) remains on the books federally and defines a marriage as only that between a man and a woman. DOMA’s language extends itself into U.S. immigration law, which defines marriage the same way.
“It’s a lose-lose situation,” says Caprio, who has been with her partner, a British citizen, for 5 years. “We’ve spent most of that time apart.”
Out4Immigration, an all-volunteer grassroots group made up of same-sex binationals like Caprio who are separated from spouses, forced to live in exile, live their lives from visa to visa or risk deportation due to lack of any other option, is launching a visual protest called “United by Love, Divided by Law” just in time for Valentine’s Day.
“This project asks same-sex binational couples to submit a photo or a short video to show the world how loving couples, those who are legally married, in a civil union or a domestic partnership and are committed in every way possible, are denied the right to stay together in the United States,” says Amos Lim, a co-founder of Out4Immigration and the organization’s community outreach director.
“We know that one of the best ways to raise awareness is by telling people our stories,” says Lim. “Our members have been writing their stories for years. Now we are taking it up a notch using visuals. Pictures and videos have a better chance of going viral online and we want everyone to see what it looks like when you are torn apart from your spouse or forced to leave your country because its laws are so discriminatory.”
The United by Love, Divided by Law visual protest is accepting photo and video submissions through a Tumblr blog at http://unitedbylovedividedbylaw.tumblr.com/. Submissions should use the hashtag #UnitedbyLoveDividedbyLaw. An easy-to-download sign that says “United by Love, Divided by Law” is accessible on the Tumblr site and should be a part of each visual presentation.
“It’s important to use the sign in your visual,” says Caprio. “We want the message of this protest to be consistent. As same-sex binational couples we truly are united by love, divided by law.”
View a sample of the visual protest using the United by Love, Divided by Law sign: http://bit.ly/ginao4i
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For more information:
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Out4Immigration is a national grassroots organization dedicated to raising awareness about the discrimination same-sex binational couples face under current US immigration law and the difficulties they encounter in keeping their families together legally in this country. For more information, visit www.out4immigration.org.
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