Pressure mounts for Klobuchar to support LGBT legislation

The Minneapolis City Council, as well as hundreds of constituents, are pressuring Sen. Amy Klobuchar to support legislation that would add same-sex couples to immigration reform efforts in the Senate. The pressure follows criticism of Klobuchar from speakers at last week’s LGBT Lobby Day at the State Capitol, where one speaker said her lack of support put her in line with Republicans such as Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michele Bachmann.

On Thursday, on behalf of the Minneapolis City Council, council member Gary Schiff sent a letter to Klobuchar urging her to sign on to the Uniting American Families Act, which would permit gay and lesbian citizens to sponsor their partners for citizenship.

“In Minnesota, many have waited too long to be united with their families. Others are being forced to leave the United States because our laws will not let them stay in their homes and petition for their same sex partners for immigration,” wrote Schiff. “I am writing on behalf of the entire Minneapolis City Council to strongly urge you to support the Uniting American Families Act of 2009.”

Just a day earlier, the Family Equality Council visited Klobuchar’s district office. Kevin Nix, the group’s communications director, said they delivered over 400 notes to Klobuchar urging her to sign on to cosponsor the bill. Nix said that there are an estimated 500 binational same-sex couples who would benefit from immigration reform that includes the LGBT community.

He also noted that both Klobuchar and Sen. Al Franken sit on the important Senate Judiciary Committee that would likely review the bill. Franken is a cosponsor of the Uniting American Families Act.

Here’s the full text of Schiff’s letter to Klobuchar:

Dear Senator Klobuchar,

I am writing on behalf of the entire Minneapolis City Council to strongly urge you to support the Uniting American Families Act of 2009 (H.R. 1025 and S. 424). I have attached a resolution passed by the Minneapolis City Council supporting the bill and adding it to City of Minneapolis’ Federal Agenda.

Under current immigration law, millions of American families remain broken – separated because of inexcusable visa backlogs, unnecessary bureaucratic paper trails and discriminatory policies that do not recognize lesbian and gay families for the purposes of equal immigration rights.

In Minnesota, many have waited too long to be united with their families. Others are being forced to leave the United States because our laws will not let them stay in their homes and petition for their same sex partners for immigration.

Americans with same sex partners who are not U.S. citizens face discrimination that other Americans do not face. Faith, ethnic, labor, education, health and other groups support truly comprehensive immigration reform that includes same sex bi-national couples. They want reform that stops tearing Americans away from parents, siblings, jobs and communities.

Minnesotans need you help to make sure that immigration reform, promised by the President and making its way through Congress, is truly comprehensive and includes fixing backlogs and doing away with the discriminatory process and outdated definitions of family. Comprehensive is not comprehensive unless it includes everyone.

I urge, on behalf of the entire Minneapolis City Council to make swift and comprehensive solutions to this troubling part of American life and make families and their unification the goal in comprehensive immigration reform – and to define American families as they are in all their diversity.