I first heard of the tale of Bradford Wells and Anthony John Makk back in August when i saw an online petition to allow Sesame Streets' Bert and Ernie the right to marry. This story [in a post i lovingly called F**k Your Petition] pissed me off because here was Wells and Makk, who are real people, and really married, but Makk was being deported because his Visa had expired and their very real marriage was not recognized by these United States.
Well, now it looks like, with the help of House leader Nancy Pelosi, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and state Senator Mark Leno--all, of course, Democrats--Wells and Makk have been granted a two-year reprieve on their deportation case.
John Makk a citizen of Australia, married Brad Wells, a U.S. citizen who suffers from AIDS-related illnesses, in Massachusetts seven years ago, though they have been partners for twenty years by now. Since their marriage, Makk is Wells' primary caregiver, but was denied consideration for a green card based on his marriage to a citizen by DOMA, the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which bars all federal marital rights and responsibilities to same-sex couples.
See, had they been a straight couple, this would not even have been an issue.
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| Pelosi, Wells, and Makk |
John Makk has been forced to “play the visa tag game back and forth,” for years--using tourist visas and business visas--up until 2010. Then he was told to leave.
But if John Makk left, he's never be able to get back into this country to care for his husband, and by staying, he is unable to see his own family in Australia.
It all sounds so very fair, doesn't it?
But now, with the aid of Pelosi, Feinstein and Leno, Makk and Wells have been given a reprieve of sorts; two more years, without threat of deportation. In a statement, Nancy Pelosi said, “I appreciate the consideration of [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] in granting this relief to my constituents. I join Anthony and Bradford in celebrating the decision, and will continue to work to repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.”
As it should be.
We are not less than.
We are not different.
We deserve the same rights and privileges as any straight couple.
And, at least for the next two years, Bradford Wells and John Makk, do.
source
So, this morning I'm strolling through the Internet, you know, browsing, making a comment here and there, when I stumble upon the news that there is a petition circulating to allow Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie to get married. Cute, right?
Wrong; this incensed me. Incensed.Me. And not because I'm anti-Muppet, but because I don't want to waste one single iota of my life signing frivolous, cutesy petitions for felt characters to get married when there are real issues out there.
Like, say, Bradford Wells and Australian John Makk. They been partners for nineteen years, and were legally married in Massachusetts seven years ago. But, John Makk is Australian and his visa has expired and he's being forced to leave the country.
And someone wants my name on a Muppet petition?
Citing that old bigoted, hate-filled DOMA, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services denied John Makk's application for residency, even though he meets several of the criteria needed. he is the spouse, the legal spouse, of an American citizen, and he is the sole caregiver of said American citizen; he has no criminal history whatsoever and he has resided in this country, under various visas, for many year.
Too bad, so sad, you're gay, get out.
But, um, could you sign this petition for Bert and Ernie before you go?
Where's the petition for Bradford Wells and John Makk? And for countless other same-sex, bi-national couples facing deportation because they happen to reside in a backasswards country that doesn't recognize their marriage? We all giggle and coo over the idea of fucking Muppets getting married and just sit back and do nothing while a real-life couple is torn apart.