Wyden & Colleagues Press Administration On LGBTQ Diplomatic Discrimination
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today joined colleagues in calling on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to amend a new Department policy that will halt the provision of diplomatic visas for unmarried, same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and employees posted to the United States or at U.S.-based international organizations.
“To bar LGBTQ diplomats from bringing their partners to the United States is to condone the discriminatory policies of many countries around the world,” wrote the Senators. “This new rule discriminates against diplomats from countries where same-sex marriage is still illegal. This new policy could not only deter foreign diplomats from bringing their families to the United States, but threatens the progress made on this front.”
U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Coons (D-DE), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Edward Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Tina Smith (D-WI) also signed the letter.
A full copy of the letter can be found here.
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