Ask An Immigration Lawyer :: What Does Marriage Equality Mean for Same-Sex Families?

Same-sex families in the state of Florida have faced prejudice and discrimination that goes beyond the rhetorical basis of "protecting" marriage, as it exists for heterosexuals. So virulent and pointedly anti-gay is the state ban on marriage equality - enshrined in the Florida constitution after a referendum vote in 2008 - that it's not just marriage that the law denies gay and lesbian life partners, but also any "other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent."

That's a level of legally empowered disparagement that transcends gestures geared toward honoring "tradition" or "preserving" legal unions between two people of opposite genders - assuming, of course, that denying couples of the same sex legal protections does indeed, in some inexplicable way, "preserve" the legal protections, social status, or desirability of marriage.

But a federal judge found that 2008 amendment to the Florida constitution to be in conflict with the Constitution of the United States, in that it denied some citizens legal equality without sufficient cause to do so. The New Year wasn't yet a week old when, on Jan. 6, gay and lesbian couples joyfully began to wed in the Sunshine State.

With the advent of marriage equality in Florida, 70% of Americans now live in states where committed couples of the same gender can legally wed. A recent Rand Corporation poll found that public support for marriage equality has skyrocketed right along with marriage equality, reaching 62%.

Closer to home, Floridians might ask what the change in the law means for them and their own families. Older individuals who might have felt social, family, or religious pressure to marry someone of the opposite gender earlier in their lives will already have a sense of what the requirements are for marriage; for younger people, who increasingly have refused to be shoved either into the closet or a sham marriage, those requirements may remain murky. The law now treats all marriage license applicants equally, no matter the gender of their intended spouse.

The first thing to do is to find out for sure whether your local city hall or courthouse performs marriages. Some counties in Florida stopped offering marriage to all couples, straight as well as gay, rather than allow two men or two women to tie the knot in their courthouses. Similarly, some of Florida's country clerks stopped officiating at marriages completely, for fear that they might have to pronounce gay and lesbian couples married.

But for families in Florida or other marriage freedom states, matrimony is not the end of the road. A host of other legal and financial concerns are also part of the picture - many of them similar to the concerns same-sex couples may have had before they were able to access marriage. Does your spouse have a will? A living will? A DNR or other directive? Do you have such documents in order, yourself? If you have children, have you made provisions for the legal protection of those children? If one spouse is a foreign national, do you have a plan in place for establishing residency rights? Have you contacted an attorney about getting your spouse a Green Card, (LPR Card) Legal Permanent Resident card that leads to eventual U.S. citizenship?

With the downfall of DOMA, an anti-gay federal law that targeted same-sex families with punitive governmental neglect, American citizens and their foreign national fianc�es and spouses have gained a great deal of potential to protect their families. Immigrants living in Florida, and other states where marriage equality has brought a new dawn of family parity, now have more tools and greater latitude in which to take action. What they may still lack is familiarity with what their rights are, and what possibilities now lay within reach.

The Florida-based Law Offices of Caro Kinsella specializes in immigration law, and will advise you of your US Immigration rights. Caro's office specializes in LGBT family Immigration and marriage adjustment petitions for same-sex couples. Her office will draw up the documents that you need for the process and take the legal steps for you to ensure your family is protected. Even if your spouse has entered the US without documentation or crossed the border without inspection, that's not a problem for Caro Kinsella and her legal team; she has helped many couples in this type of situation. If you or someone you love is inside the US without a valid visa or wants to be in the US, call Caro's office and ask for assistance.

It's most important that you educate yourself and make sure that you and your family are on the right path toward the American Dream -- the path of opportunity, personal responsibility, and access to the fruits of full legal equality. If your immigration status is a roadblock on your path, then call the Law Offices of Caro Kinsella at 954-304-2243 and get assistance from the "LGBT Immigration Experts."

For more detailed information on this topic, contact Attorney Caro Kinsella, Immigration Attorney. Her team of legal experts specialize in gay immigration matters, and will assist you with green cards, visas and all other US Immigration matters. Click here to contact the attorney's office directly.

Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.

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