We’re lost in a sea of Kavanaugh. How could we not be, when it is such a travesty that such a person even be nominated for a life-time appointment to the highest court in the land?
… but many stories of note are going undiscussed, so I’m just posting a quickie diary to share this bad news. Beginning October 1st, the Trump administration put into effect a new policy denying visas to same-sex partners of diplomats and U.S. officials. The new policy insists they be married—even if they're from countries that criminalize gay marriage.
And of course the Trump administration twists the rationale of the policy to make it sound like a good thing:
The U.S. Mission to the U.N. portrayed the decision—which foreign diplomats fear will increase hardships for same-sex couples in countries that don’t recognize same-sex marriage—as an effort to bring its international visa practices in line with current U.S. policy. In light of the landmark 2015 Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, the U.S. extends diplomatic visas only to married spouses of U.S. diplomats.
“Same-sex spouses of U.S. diplomats now enjoy the same rights and benefits as opposite-sex spouses,” the U.S. mission wrote in a July 12 note to U.N.-based delegations. “Consistent with [State] Department policy, partners accompanying members of permanent missions or seeking to join the same must generally be married in order to be eligible” for a diplomatic visa.
Foreign Policy
Samantha Power had this to say:
More of what is to be expected from the Trump Administration. Mean-spirited action, using twisted words.