by Charlotte.Clymer@hrc.org •
WASHINGTON -- Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, responded to a new policy by the Trump-Pence administration that denies visas to same-sex partners of U.N. employees and foreign diplomats. It also requires those currently in the U.S. to get married by the end of the year or be forced to leave the country. First reported on by the Washington Blade in August, the new policy went into effect on Monday.
“This is an unconscionable, needless attack on some LGBTQ diplomats from around the world, and it reflects the hostility of the Trump-Pence administration toward LGBTQ people” said HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. “It is unnecessary, mean-spirited, and unacceptable. The White House must immediately go back to a policy that is fully inclusive and takes into account the dangers faced by LGBTQ foreign diplomats, U.N. employees, and their families.”
The new policy would place an extraordinary burden on LGBTQ diplomats and families from countries without marriage equality. Since 2009, under an order introduced by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the United States has granted diplomatic visas to domestic partners of foreign diplomats and U.N. employees. These couples must now show proof of marriage by December 31st of this year or leave the country within 30 days.
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.
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