Before We Extend the Rights of Illegals...

Recently the debates around America’s illegal immigration problem have reached an all time high.  With several versions of various bills being debated in Washington and hundreds of staged protests around the country both supporting and against extending the rights of millions of illegal immigrants, America has forgotten that there are legal taxpaying and voting citizens in America that don’t yet have all of their rights.

Legal American citizens continue to be denied the right to marry because of their sexual orientation while their families are deprived of access to the more than 1,138 federal rights, protections and responsibilities automatically granted to married heterosexual couples. 

It’s a slap in the face to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people take up the debate on whether or not to give people who are in this country illegally any rights when we haven’t even given the people who are here legally all of their rights.

If we’re going to hold twenty four hour Senate sessions using taxpayers dollars, let those sessions be used to come up with a comprehensive plan that allows America’s same gender loving stakeholders to have the opportunity to have the right to make decisions on a partner's behalf in a medical emergency or the right to receive family-related Social Security benefits. 

While I agree that immigration reform is an important issue, it’s not the next civil rights movement, we haven’t even finished with our current civil rights movement.

Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts got it right when he said, “There is no moving to the front of the line.”

Immigration reform needs to get in line behind the gay civil rights movement, which has not yet been resolved. 

Which is not to say that I don’t recognize the plight of illegal immigrants because I do. 

However, I didn’t break the law to come into this country.  The country broke the law by not recognizing and bestowing upon me my full rights as a citizen and I find it hard as a Black lesbian to jump on the immigration reform bandwagon when my own bandwagon hasn’t even left the barn.

President Bush wants a comprehensive guest worker program. 

With all due respect Mr. President, there can be no guest worker program until we resolve the issue of making sure that all lesbian and gay legal workers have the right to take up to 12 weeks of leave from work to care for a seriously ill partner or parent of a partner and the right to purchase continued health coverage for a domestic partner after the loss of a job.

Both Senator Kennedy and Senator John Cornyn of Texas backed away from insisting that guest workers would have to leave the United States after their initial two-year visa expired, basically guaranteeing that immigrant families wouldn’t be separated. 

Well what about making sure that the children of same-sex couples are protected and not separated from the parent they know and love in the event of an untimely death?  Same-sex couples make commitments and form families just like heterosexual couples and need the same protections.

So you see, America needs to take care of its own backyard before it debates on whether not to take care of its neighbor’s backyard.

Lesbians and gays are not second-class citizens.  Our issues should not get bumped to the back of the line in favor of extending rights to people who have entered this country illegally. Bottom line.

Author and poet Audre Lorde once said, “I have come to believe over and over again, that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.”

While I know no one wants to be viewed as a racist when it comes to immigration reform, as a lesbian I don’t want to move to the back of the bus to accommodate those who broke the law to be here.  Likewise, if our lawmakers want to hold emergency and twenty four hour sessions, let them first take up the issues of the people who are here legally and can actually vote for them in the upcoming elections before addressing the needs of those that are here illegally.  After all, immigrants aren’t the only ones who want a shot at the American dream.

Comments

[Fige Bornu, Chairman, Positive African Image Institute]

In one of this nation's whitest states, Senator Barack Obama overwhelming beat out two of his establishment-tainted and white contenders, Senator Hilary Clinton and former Senator John Edwards. And it must be true if left alone, our young people will act and behave based on what they see as legitimacy and sincereness . And Obama was the number one choice of young people in Iowa. The same was true for women. So what does this all mean?

Well, I might have to eat my words, but I have a gut feeling that white people are sick and tired of themselves and what they have and currently represent. They now see what Black people have seen for decades: that this system of false democracy in the United States of America is elitist and very selective. They have witnessed and experienced a white man, President George Bush, Jr., bamboozle not just Black people but white people as he lies, steals and then shouts out references to "God." White people in America are losing their liberties despite that wonderful document called the Constitution. They are losing their jobs, homes and are experiencing first-hand the disgrace, mistreatment and awfulness that Black people in America have struggled to wrestle themselves from for centuries. Not too long ago I attended a "lecture" at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles that featured rapper Chuck D and comedian Margaret Choo. Chuck and Margaret spoke volumes of how white supremacy has done this and that. Standing next to me, a young white male in his early twenties turned to me and asked, "Dam, what about me? I am white and I am dealing with the same things they are talking about." Yes, it seems, this once very controlled and powerful system of hate and deceitfulness has spread across the aisles.

And that great and not yet inhibited vehicle called the Internet? It has allowed unfiltered access to what is really going on in the world, and that includes what white people have done and continue to do to human beings worldwide. Mind you, the majority of today's white people are simply victims of their ancestry. Yes, their bloodlines may connect them to some of the worst people ever to inhabitant our planet. But they, poor things, are merely associates of the cruel and vicious acts their forefathers and mothers laid on Africans, Asians and Native Americans for thousands of years, and currently. And the signs are showing that they don't want to have nothing to do this disgusting and deadly regime.

I think what really tipped white people off to the mad cow disease that run in their bloodlines is what happened to tens and tens of thousands of Black people in New Orleans just a few years ago. That God-ordained Internet and the high tech mechanisms of the mass media could not hide, edit or re-explain the bold and massive racism that allowed thousands of Black people (and some white people) to suffer and die right before the eyes, ears, hearts and souls of human beings around the world. (Even today, Bush and his friends arrogantly deny the resources needed to re-built New Orleans for the thousands who had to flee). And the discussion about the thousands who are still missing in New Orleans is yet another reason why anyone with even a hint of a heart would be totally sick and tired of the same old system which must be technically entitled white supremacy. What happened in New Orleans and how it was handled allowed the bottom to drop out of anybody who has even a fraction of care and love in them. What happened in New Orleans was the beginning of the end of this system of white supremacy in the United States. Mark my words on this.

And I see it in the streets, especially amongst white young people: they are resentful and sick and tired of themselves. They are trying to diligently forge alliances with Black people because like most Black people, they are experiencing the same things. They are seeing their parents losing their jobs, homes and their Constitutional rights. And they want a change, even if that means 'kicking to the curb' those who look like them. Because when the shit hits the fan, people want to survive, fuck what the people who are causing them mayhem look like.

So does this mean that white people will finally get off of their trust fund and privileged asses and help Black, Yellow and Brown fight the good fight? I think they will because they have no choice. Because continuing this campaign of white supremacy and thinking that as a result of their skin being white they too will benefit and rise from this evil scheme, is not working for them no more. From George Washington to George Bush, they should, at least, now see that raping, hanging and killing innocent people ain't right. And they now know that they are next.

Good luck everyone, because we will need it and more.

Fige Bornu, Chairman
Positive African Image Institute

[tolikimer]

Hi all!

I'm really impressed!


G'night

[rofovnifo]

Hi

Looks good! Very useful, good stuff. Good resources here. Thanks much!


G'night

[abou_alkassim]

zagmout chouf sir mtl f aflam dial zwamel twli star walakin ila rja3ti l lemaroc radi tl9a saf flmatar dial bou9alwa ana awalohom radi ndorbou lik dik tarma radi njib m3aya bassina , 9andil , jamal twil, ferepa , l3alla , hmed zbida, khali9 n3ayja mltraya ou lalist mazal twila ana ran3teh lik tmosso lia safi

[mahmoud zouhair]

ach gha ngoulek a nabil a ras l9lwa , ma bghinach n7wiwek f lycée wakha katzoumel 3lina , w à la fin mchiti gha t97ben 3la l3waza a zamel a zeb lard . wa reje3 lmouk a je97a l maroc ila ma7ydnach ltboun mouk srwal w 7winak en publique . ZAMEL dial ZAB

[Nabil zagmout friend]

Tell me why
Ain't nothin' but a heartache
Tell me why
Ain't nothin' but a mistake
Tell me why
I never wanna hear you say
I want it that way

Am I your fire
Your one desire
Yes I know it's too late
But I want it that way

[abou_alkassim]

nabil zamel kaydarbouha lik wili wili t9btak wsa3t a latef wliti zamel kat7awa kathaz l9alwa tfou

[Nabil zagmout friend]

Nabil zagmout is a gai O_O what a shame !!!! how do you dare to do this?!!! I knew he was abnormal but but but not to this level sniiiiiiiiiiif nabil why why?????

[miya]

I wonder how corporations exploiting workers and aristocratic foreign leaders/governments (who would rather see people leave their homes instead of help them in their home countries) will effect the U.S. workplace in the long run. I feel for the poor, working poor and middle class (especially since I fall into one of those groups). I think your writing mirrored some of my frustration as a black gay person trying to survive in supposedly one of the richest free countries and not feeling much love from the people or the government. I'm glad you wrote your piece and are willing to take the heat.

[Myeisha Jackson]

jazz you will find much support from the black community and the black sgl community on this issue. i never see these so called activists out there on any black issues, but i do see you. keep doing what you are doing, never lose your voice and we know you are not anti immigrant, these people don't know you. we love you girl. loved your last word and earl's post. well said.

mye

[Tilly Bummie]

Jasmyne: All of us who read your article know that your writing as an "individual" does not excuse you, as a visible member/wannabe spokesperson for Black [really, African American] LGBT folks, from exercising some responsibility and some sense when you spit out arguments like this that are based more on ideology than evidence. This piece of drivel reflects one of the uglier sides of African American nationalism which probably should never have seen the light of day, but, I'm glad you were clueless enough to publish it so that all of us [especially black immigrant folks - documented or not]can see just who we are allying ourselves with on marriage and other civil rights issues.

[Robb Pearson]

Don . . .

Excellent points. Being gay should not be accompanied by some blanket expectation that we have everything in common with everyone who's fighting for their civil rights. Nor does it mean we have to march in everyone else's "civil rights band".

Nor does being gay automatically mean that I'm a liberal.

I've said this before. I am an American, and I am gay. But I am first an American.

Being gay doesn't mean I place more priority on my gay rights than on national security.

Being gay doesn't mean that I must promote gay issues above all other issues.

Being gay doesn't mean I have to march in goose-step with all other gays, nor does it mean I have to agree with everything gay liberals scream about like queens on a holiday.

Other than rights issues, sexual preference is hardly a foundation for any real commonality.

Unlike many of the gay liberals who, like parrots, simply mimick the latest liberal talking points, I actually have a mind of my own.

Imagine that.

And there are obviously many who also do, like Jasmyne and others who have commented here on this issue.

And fellow gays have chastised Jasmyne and those who share the same views on illegal immigration. Such gays are like, "How dare you have a view that's different from ours!"

How, well . . . oppressive.

And isn't the entire objective of the gay activist agenda supposed to be to coalesce within American society as individuals, rather than being an insular sub-culture which seeks to be more and more separate?

ROBB PEARSON
www.robbpearson.com

[Don "Stuffed Animal" Charles]

I'm frustrated by the number of people on the Left who are so locked into identity politics, they allow themselves to automatically fall into politically correct stances on issues. My God. . . the predetermined rhetoric comes spewing forth like that green slime Linda Blair vomited up in the first Exorcist movie! Identity politics isn't inherently bad, but it can be emphasized too much. It can lead to many dangerous assumptions, for instance . . . that illegal immigrants and LGBT people are natural allies . . . that Latinos and Black people have all or even most interests in common . . . that racism among White Lesbians and Gay men and homophobia among racial minorities are problems that can be swept under the rug in the name of "coalition-building" . . . that all Lesbians and Gay men can and should unite under a Progressive banner . . . ludicrous! Absolutely ludicrous. That kind of political ignorance will get you nowhere in a big damn hurry. Even folks who do unite under the same political banner will inevitably find themselves on opposite sides of an argument from time to time. We amount to much more than our identification with oppressed minority groups. Growing up Black in America will influence your feelings on a lot of issues, but it isn't the only determinant. Feminists can and do have concerns that are not primarily feminist concerns. And when you think about it, being homosexual really isn't a Hell of a lot to have in common with someone, is it? Some of these so-called progressive coalitions stand on very deep fault lines. I can feel the first tremors starting under some them already. Personally, I wish people would not coalesce so much around shared identity. I wish they would coalesce more around shared values. There's nothing like a strong belief system to motivate you. The Religious Right based its movement on shared values, and they are the most powerful force out there today. They don't always march in lockstep with conservative Republicans, either. They listen to the beat of their own drummer. They'd rather lose a national election than support a candidate who's soft on their issues. We should learn from them. As for me, I value diversity. I value comprehensive sex education. I value equality. But I also value the rule of law and the importance of national security. Does that make me liberal or conservative? Progressive or libertarian? It makes me someone whose positions on issues can't be taken for granted. Lots of people made assumptions about Jasmyne Cannick's stance on illegal immigration because she was Left-leaning . . . a Black woman . . . a Lesbian. She taught them quite a lesson, didn't she? I'm glad she did, and I'm in total agreement with her about not wanting to be put in box. Jump back, honey! Nobody will ever obligate me to choose a certain political stance just because I'm a Black Gay man. The greatest gift God gave me was the ability to think for myself.

[Blame India Watch]

"We know that this country has a long history of denying citizenship and legal protection to many groups of people. Immigrants and LGBT people are just two of those many communities, and we must stand together."

yes and besides, how many of those immigrants now gracing the newsmagazines and talk shows every hour are also LGBTIQQ themselves?

Sorry, Jasmyne but you have fallen into the same logical trap as so many white gays and nonwhite heterosexuals; these categories, "immigrant" and "LGBT" are no more mutually exclusive than "black" and "gay".

[Shannon]

To Mr. "American",

Your point is just silly. People use American and U.S. interchangeably all the time. Our country is called the United States of AMERICA, isn't it?? I see you knew what I was talking about. How silly is it to argue about something so insignificant?

Imperialist, my black behind. Perhaps YOU should think before writing.

I also agree with Marquita. Jasmyne's words are intentionally being taken out of context. I wonder how many people even bothered to read HER commentary. Some of y'all just probably came on here and headed straight for the comment section.

[scott]

Wow...using Audre Lorde in an anti-immigrant piece. That's just like the Minutemen using MLK on their website.

All this talk of "breaking the law" is nonsense. What about all the times queer folks and people of color have broken the "law" in order to survive, love, be who they are? Racist, homophobic, and xenophobic white males made such "laws" and to use that as a basis for an argument is hypocritical, and not to mention weak.

Thanks for adding to the anti-immigrant fury, such as this - http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2006/04/115144.shtml.

[Philip Calderon]

Are gays suppose to have one opinion on issues?

I don't think so.

If the 55 gay activists think they have clout with gay Americans to influence how they think then they are going to be disappointed once again because after witnessing thirty years of failed leadership in the gay community the average gay American doesn't pay much attention to what gay activists say.

Nice try by the way...trying to change the discussion from illegal immigration to immigration.

Regards,
Philip

[American]

When will you learn that "U.S." is not the same as "America" ?

on a comment above...

It reads:
"I'm not trying to impose a hierarchy, but immigrants ARE NOT AMERICAN CITIZENS! I don't understand fighting for the rights of people who aren't Americans in America while denying the rights of American citizens! That's insane to me."

It should read:
"I'm not trying to impose a hierarchy, but immigrants ARE NOT *U.S.* CITIZENS! I don't understand fighting for the rights of people who aren't *from the U.S.* in *the U.S.* while denying the rights of *U.S.* citizens! That's insane to me."

...such imperialist mentality!

Aside from that and re: your article... some points to ponder...

-Taxpaying?... go find out where the taxes paid by undocumented (but working) people go... Please, go and find out... maybe a fund that never gets claimed, uh?

-Even after becoming a U.S. resident... you don't get to vote!... But still have to pay your dear taxes.
(talk about taxation without representation)

-Many people that are forced to come here (by the abuses of your own country) wouldn't want to be here. Cause and effect, get it?

-Finally, you are such a fool... The idea that works against you is to divide, and you fall for it. Why are you always asking for handicaps?

-Think before writing.

[nubian]

jasmyne--
this was very upseting to read. immigrants deserve civil rights too--queer rights are not at "the font of the line"

[NaDine]

I've been reading the posts and the sexuality piece is not an issue for me and as to why I believe those who are here "illegally" have cost us taxpayers billions upon billions of dollars, yet our elected officials can't decide on a national health care system that would include EVERY American.

Fact: The federal government allocates a billion dollars a year per hospital that treats illegal immigrants. Uninsured Americans, unless they have SSI or Medicaid or Medicare, goes to the hospital, they come home with a bill. To me, something is wrong with that picture.

Fact: Illegal immigrants can't get social security cards, however, IRS creates an federal ID for them in order for them to pay taxes. So yes, there are those who are in this country "illegally" are paying taxes and contributing to Social Security -- money they will never see -- unless they become a citizen. There are those in this country illegally who can get a business loan. An American trying to get a business loan and you have one spot on your credit record -- well good luck.

Interesting that in 2002, INS trageted 12,000 Jamaiccans for deportation --did we hear about that -- we didn't protest about that
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20021116T220000-0500_35326_OBS_US_LISTS________JAMAICANS_FOR_DEPORTATION.asp

Fact: A Haitian Mother was deported -- her child born in American is still here and she is not. Now there is this huge concern around separating parents from their children. The state of Florida separated foster care children who have been in the care of same-sex couples since they were toddlers -- now separating the children American born children from parents who illegally entered this country is an issue. Let us not forget, during slavery, many of our ancestors were separated from their families -- they were SOLD and they weren't here illegally nor voluntarily.

I feel for my LBGT brothers and sisters who are in same-sex relationships and their partner is unable to obtain a work visa and have to go in and out on a visitor's visa and come back. Granted, love finds its own way and there isn't anything we can do about that. At least, they are doing it legally.

There has been a line for civil rights since people started fighting for them. Of course the white man wrote the laws, therefore the framers of the Constitution felt they should be the only ones to vote and run for political office. They gave the black man the right to vote before they gave the white woman the right to vote, however, the black man had to pass various tests and the white woman did not. Let us not forget, it has been only a short 50 + years since our humiliation at the polls has ended. There will always be a line for civil rights because there are those Americans who believe the constitution is black and white and it is not. The 9th Amendment speaks of enumerated rights -- too many to mention and many that had not been thought of during the inception of the consitution -- those enumerated rights are now coming forth. If we want the right to marry our partners -- don't get IN line, get ON the line and become active in any and every way that you possibly can.

[Nicholas]

To those of you who are dismissing the OPEN LETTER TO THE LGBT COMMUNITY, because it does not address "Illegal" immigrants, I would like to direct you to the website of "Queers for Economic Justice" (www.QueersforEconomicJustice.org) which includes a very beautiful statement about Why They March with immigrants.

Below is an excerpt from that Statement, which captures my feelings about the ridiculousness of calling people "illegal", when it is OUR foreign policies that have contributed to their need to leave their country, and to come looking for work here.

This is one section of their statement:

We know that this country has a long history of denying citizenship and legal protection to many groups of people. Immigrants and LGBT people are just two of those many communities, and we must stand together.

Citizenship for all people of African ancestry born in this country was not settled without a civil war that took millions of lives. And even then, it took another hundred years to eliminate overt and official limitations on the citizenship of the descendants of African slaves, and we are still fighting the battle for true citizenship. US citizenship is, indeed, a bundle of rights and privileges that have been bestowed on select groups of people by the powers that have been in this country, or that have been wrested from these same powers. And those in power in this country have consistently treated the rest of the people of this planet as resources or obstacles to resources that belong to them. For so many people, migration, within this country and to this country, is as much a reflection of patterns of captialist "investment," (more appropriately entitled imperialism and exploitation), as it is of any "choice" of workers. Withholding of the bundles of rights and privileges of citizenship is just one more aspect of that exploitation. To not challenge current immigration law is to endorse nothing less than the brutal expropriation of people's labor, lives, cultures, and homes.

We understand that anyone who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender cannot in good conscience support current immigration law, an area where overt discrimination is still considered the privilege of Congress and the Executive. We know that as people whose sexual activity was regarded as a crime in about half the states in this country until a Supreme Court decision three years ago, that we must challenge those laws that are unfair.

. . . because our sexualities have been historically criminalized by this country, . . . we understand that “law” and “justice” are not the same thing.

[Nicholas]

Jasmyne, You should be ashamed of yourself.

The only good thing to come from your divisive "analysis" was that wonderful OPEN LETTER TO THE LGBT COMMUNITY, written in response to your uninformed, and petty, column.

Thankfully the OPEN LETTER is being circulated all across the internet.

I thought I would also share this amusing article from THE NATION magazine, by gay writer, Richard Kim.

Marriage Myopia
by Richard Kim

If you want to see the pathologies plaguing the gay marriage movement in action, you need look no farther than this article penned by Jasmyne Cannick. Titled "Gays First, Then Illegals,"

Cannick's editorial spews the kind of xenophobic rhetoric now rarely heard outside of right-wing radio and white nativist circles -- unless, of course, it's coming from the mainstream gay press. Pitting gay rights against immigrants' rights, Cannick -- former "People of Color Media Manager for GLAAD" -- considers it a "slap in the face to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people" for Congress to debate immigration reform when same-sex marriage remains unrecognized. For your pleasure or fury, here are some of her greatest hits:

"Immigration reform needs to get in line behind the LGBT civil rights movement, which has not yet realized all of its goals. Which is not to say that I don't recognize the plight of illegal immigrants. I do. But I didn't break the law to come into this country. This country broke the law by not recognizing and bestowing upon me my full rights as a citizen."

"America needs to take care of its own backyard before it debates on whether to take care of its neighbor's backyard. Lesbians and gays should not be second-class citizens. Our issues should not get bumped to the back of the line in favor of extending rights to people who have entered this country illegally. Bottom line."

And in my favorite passage, Cannick quotes Audre Lorde, child of immigrants, on the necessity of speaking difficult truths before concluding, "While I know no one wants to be viewed as a racist when it comes to immigration reform, as a lesbian I don't want to move to the back of the bus to accommodate those who broke the law to be here."

Honey, if you don't want to be viewed as a racist, then don't write like one!

As my friend Terry Boggis, Director of Center Kids at the NYC LGBT Center puts it, "As long as we're dragging poor Audre Lorde into the fray and misusing her wisdom to make a point utterly contrary to all she represented, we should be compelled to resurrect her tried-and-true 'There is no hierarchy of oppressions' line. It's hard to believe that in this nation of incomprehensible, dazzling, shameless abundance, we still get this kind of paranoid thinking that rights for some will mean fewer rights for others. Social justice isn't a zero-sum game."

Along with former Clinton apparatchik and media whore Keith Boykin, Cannick is on the board of the National Black Justice Coalition, an organization ostensibly dedicated to "fostering equality by fighting racism and homophobia," but which so far seems mostly devoted to persuading black churches and civil rights groups to support (or at least not block) the drive for same-sex marriage. If the other board members, some of whom I respect, take NBJC's mission seriously, they'd publicly denounce Cannick's editorial.

Sadly, Cannick's perspective may only be exceptional in its forthrightness. As public health activist Debanuj Dasgupta points out, "the 'gay rights movement' is largely dominated by an analysis that is rooted in the premises of citizenship and LGBT identity," without realizing how "citizenship status is a site of major oppression and social control." Moreover, from the enforcement of the Espionage and Sedition Acts to the McCarthy hearings, sexual dissidents and foreigners have historically been caught up in the same dragnets, and the regulation of marriage has long been a focus of racist U.S. immigration policy.

Next month Human Rights Watch's LGBT division will publish a report on binational couples in support of the Uniting American Families Act (formerly the Permanent Partners Immigration Act) which would add same-sex "permanent partners" to the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Let's hope that debate starts a more generous, less invidious discussion about reforming both immigration and marriage.

[Nicholas]

Jasmyne, You should be ashamed of yourself.

The only good thing to come from your divisive "analysis" was that wonderful OPEN LETTER TO THE LGBT COMMUNITY, written in response to your uninformed, and petty, column.

Thankfully the OPEN LETTER is being circulated all across the internet.

I thought I would also share this amusing article from THE NATION magazine, by gay writer, Richard Kim.

Marriage Myopia
by Richard Kim

If you want to see the pathologies plaguing the gay marriage movement in action, you need look no farther than this article penned by Jasmyne Cannick. Titled "Gays First, Then Illegals,"

Cannick's editorial spews the kind of xenophobic rhetoric now rarely heard outside of right-wing radio and white nativist circles -- unless, of course, it's coming from the mainstream gay press. Pitting gay rights against immigrants' rights, Cannick -- former "People of Color Media Manager for GLAAD" -- considers it a "slap in the face to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people" for Congress to debate immigration reform when same-sex marriage remains unrecognized. For your pleasure or fury, here are some of her greatest hits:

"Immigration reform needs to get in line behind the LGBT civil rights movement, which has not yet realized all of its goals. Which is not to say that I don't recognize the plight of illegal immigrants. I do. But I didn't break the law to come into this country. This country broke the law by not recognizing and bestowing upon me my full rights as a citizen."

"America needs to take care of its own backyard before it debates on whether to take care of its neighbor's backyard. Lesbians and gays should not be second-class citizens. Our issues should not get bumped to the back of the line in favor of extending rights to people who have entered this country illegally. Bottom line."

And in my favorite passage, Cannick quotes Audre Lorde, child of immigrants, on the necessity of speaking difficult truths before concluding, "While I know no one wants to be viewed as a racist when it comes to immigration reform, as a lesbian I don't want to move to the back of the bus to accommodate those who broke the law to be here."

Honey, if you don't want to be viewed as a racist, then don't write like one!

As my friend Terry Boggis, Director of Center Kids at the NYC LGBT Center puts it, "As long as we're dragging poor Audre Lorde into the fray and misusing her wisdom to make a point utterly contrary to all she represented, we should be compelled to resurrect her tried-and-true 'There is no hierarchy of oppressions' line. It's hard to believe that in this nation of incomprehensible, dazzling, shameless abundance, we still get this kind of paranoid thinking that rights for some will mean fewer rights for others. Social justice isn't a zero-sum game."

Along with former Clinton apparatchik and media whore Keith Boykin, Cannick is on the board of the National Black Justice Coalition, an organization ostensibly dedicated to "fostering equality by fighting racism and homophobia," but which so far seems mostly devoted to persuading black churches and civil rights groups to support (or at least not block) the drive for same-sex marriage. If the other board members, some of whom I respect, take NBJC's mission seriously, they'd publicly denounce Cannick's editorial.

Sadly, Cannick's perspective may only be exceptional in its forthrightness. As public health activist Debanuj Dasgupta points out, "the 'gay rights movement' is largely dominated by an analysis that is rooted in the premises of citizenship and LGBT identity," without realizing how "citizenship status is a site of major oppression and social control." Moreover, from the enforcement of the Espionage and Sedition Acts to the McCarthy hearings, sexual dissidents and foreigners have historically been caught up in the same dragnets, and the regulation of marriage has long been a focus of racist U.S. immigration policy.

Next month Human Rights Watch's LGBT division will publish a report on binational couples in support of the Uniting American Families Act (formerly the Permanent Partners Immigration Act) which would add same-sex "permanent partners" to the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Let's hope that debate starts a more generous, less invidious discussion about reforming both immigration and marriage.

[Marquita Thomas]

Your words are deliberately being taken out of context. You said twice in your article that you understand the need for immigration reform and not once did you make a disparaging remark about illegal immigrants. What you are commenting on is the government's hypocrisy. In considering immigration reform when argument had previously been to deny them rights because they were not American, not paying taxes and putting a strain on our economy comes as a slap in the face to the lgbt people who ARE American, ARE paying taxes and ARE making major contributions to society. The question you're posing to the government is how he picks and chooses who in this country - illegal or not - it will bestow rights to.

Asking that question is not insensitive or divisive, the plight of the immigrant is understood by all, this is NOT about illegal aliens, it is about the government and it's denial of rights based on arbitrary criteria.

Jasmyne,

I loved your commentary on Advocate.com regarding not allowing the immigration issue to "cut in line" in front of the fight for rights of gays & lesbians here legally. You so accurately stated everything I have been feeling. Your article inspired me to contract my congressmen and women and demand they advocate for me, a legal US citizen. I forwarded your article to my friend and urged them to do the same.

Thank you for such a well written commentary.

Michael