As Marriage Equality spreads across the United States, gays and lesbians are celebrating quasi-equality in the United States. Of course Marriage Equality in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine, and soon New Hampshire is progress, but what many (including members in the LGBT community) have forgotten is that the states rights for marriage is not 100% Marriage Equality. There are approximately +1100 rights associated with marriage on the federal level.
One of the federal marriage rights denied to all gay and lesbian Americans, including those who reside in states that have passed same sex marriage (thanks to DOMA), is immigration rights. While heterosexuals can easily sponsor their partner for residency in the United States, gay and lesbian American citizens cannot.
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