DonnaL

PS to what I just posted: I'm not suggesting by any means that every person who isn't happy with this decision is a bigot or "intolerant." But I do believe that there's a whole lot of bigotry out there (again, not necessarily here!), hiding behind all sorts of disguises.

Donna

xiggi

If I were presented those choices, I would allow both. However, only one is currently constitutional in the United States.

Fwiw, one interesting twist will most definitely arise when Shawn marries "legally" Antonio, a Mexican non-resident alien, in San Diego, only to see an immigration officer arresting the California legal spouse and starting a deportation procedure. A Californian legal spouse could be inadmissible in the United States.

I doubt that there is a single lawyer in the country who could stop the deportation of Antonio.

Hanna

"one interesting twist will most definitely arise when Shawn marries "legally" Antonio"

You have a very common misunderstanding of immigration law. Not withstanding what happens in Hollywood movies, if you are in the U.S. illegally, and you marry a citizen, you do NOT automatically win the right to stay here. Far from it.

vossron

"Far from it." Well, maybe not that far. I married an illegal alien. We had to show INS that we were a legitimate couple, she had to admit that she was illegal when we married, pay a fine, and she got her green card.

xiggi

Hanna, if you read my post again, you'll notice that I side-stepped the question of the illegality of the alien altogether. I was careful to use the example of a non-resident alien. In this case, Antonio might be a tourist or a student on a legal visa.

My example targeted the fact that the marriage or union of two males might be constitutional, legal, and legitimate in California, but would not be accepted by ICE. On the othe hand, the same situation with Antonia would lead to a much easier path to legal residency and ultimately american citizenship. I believe that the steps might include obtaining a K1 or a K3 visa while a I-130 Petition is being processed.

While I do not think that the procedures are mere walks in the park, I still think they are highly doable for Antonia. On the other hand, Antonio's fate won't be helped by the laws of the State of California.

Hanna

"I married an illegal alien. We had to show INS that we were a legitimate couple, she had to admit that she was illegal when we married, pay a fine, and she got her green card."

Was this before or after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security?

It's a whole different world today. I've spent a bit of time on this.

List of Documents in case

vossron

Yup, before DHS, never mind.

sunnymamere

Seems to me Tega #9 is the only one who gets it.

A totally, politically motivated decision, to favor Republicans.

kluge

In a dramatic reversal of decades of public opinion, California voters agree by a slim majority that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, according to a Field Poll released today.

By 51-42 percent, registered voters said they believed same-sex marriage should be legal in California. Only 28 percent favored gay marriage in 1977, when the Field Poll first asked that question, said Mark DiCamillo, the poll's director. (SFGate.com)