DOMA Plaintiff Edie Windsor, Prop. 8 Attorney David Boies Honored at NYU 2013 Commencement: VIDEO

NYU had its 2013 commencement yesterday, and it was all about marriage equality, and it was stirring.

DOMA plaintiff Edie Windsor was given the school's Presidential Medal, and Prop. 8 lawyer David Boies was the keynote speaker. Mr. Boies received a Doctor of Laws degree, honoris causa. He was introduced by constitutional law professor Kenji Yoshino (second video).

Said Boies: "One of the platitudes of our country is that all people are created equal. I can't tell you today how the Supreme Court is going to rule in June but what I can tell you is that if we don't win it in Perry we will continue the fight until we do win it. So congratulations, and join us in trying to make platitudes real."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

David and Jason, Another Tragic Story of Gay Binational DOMA Heartbreak: VIDEO

Missing Husband, a heartbreaking new video from The DOMA Project tells the story of David and Jason, a married binational couple separated by 6,000 miles because of the Defense of Marriage Act and an unjust immigration system.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

And read more about them here.

David writes:

DOMA means that legal gay marriages are not recognized federally and are not enough to bring foreign spouses of gay Americans to the US. Jason isn’t welcome to the US as a Husband and has only ever been able to visit for a maximum 90 days as a tourist.

Jason has been warned for 2 years that he has visited the US too often using tourist visa waivers. It’s currently recommended that he wait 6 months before returning, or he may be denied entry as a visitor.

What most people don’t realize is that when Jason has landed, whether or not he is allowed out of LAX airport is at the discretion of the Customs and Border Protection officer. The past 2 years he has been taken aside to a small interview room, interrogated and had his luggage searched by officers suspecting he is lying about his reasons for visiting. They scoff at any explanation of the years of difficulties he’s had obtaining a visa, replying “it’s not that hard”.

Eric and Juan, a Gay Binational Married Couple Fighting for Immigration Reform, End of DOMA: VIDEO

Eric and Juan are a gay binational couple featured in The Bravery Tapes, a project that profiles stories of human courage.

Their story is also featured in the L.A. Times today:

In his video Op-Ed “Eric and Juan,” Jens Erik Gould introduces us to a same-sex couple who got married in 2008, during the brief time when gay marriage was legal in California. Though Eric and Juan have built a life together here, DOMA prevents Juan from applying for a green card through marriage. It is among the many federal benefits the two are denied.

“Juan has had so much adversity in his life,” Gould says. “Someone tried to kill him in Mexico because he was gay. Now, not only does he still experience discrimination for being gay in the U.S., he's also living undocumented here. Many people in this situation hide in the shadows. But despite all the adversity and risk, he's publicly fighting for what he believes in because he wants to be an example for his community.”

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Faces of Gay Binational Couples Harmed by DOMA, Unfair Immigration Laws: VIDEO

Lavi Soloway of the DOMA project put this clip together to show the "Gang of Eight" and those opposed to including gays in immigration reform just a few of the couples getting harmed by leaving it out.

If you missed my post from last night, Senator Patrick Leahy has offered up two amendments to the "Gang of Eight" immigration bill that would include gay families. Check them out here.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Today Is Lambda Legal Day in New York City

By ARI EZRA WALDMAN

Lambda Legal, the country's oldest and arguably most important legal services organization dedicated to protecting the rights of the LGBT community, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. It began as a small operation, evoking a David-versus-Goliath motif. It's first client was itself. Its second major victory changed the way we think about free speech. Its most famous case brought gay people out from the shadows. And through countless legal, educational, and political efforts over forty years, Lambda has done more for the gay community than any one person could adequately appreciate or explain. 

Because of Lambda's incomparable accomplishments, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has declared today, May 6, 2013, "Lambda Legal Day." I'd like to make sure we all understand why.

Without Lambda Legal, we wouldn't be where we are today: celebrating the freedom to marry in New England, permitted to express and embrace our sexuality in schools and elsewhere, arguing marriage and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) at the Supreme Court, and expecting victories in state legislatures across the country, to name just a few our remarkable successes. We used to be hidden in underground bars with darkened windows, subject to random and pernicious police raids, and forced deep into the closet and far toward the margins of legitimate society. Today, for the most part, we aren't.

To some of us, names like Bill Thom, James Dale, John Lawrence, Ninia Baehr, and Karen Golinski evoke feelings of heroism and shared sacrifice. They all were plaintiffs in important gay rights cases in the last forty years and they were all represented by Lambda Legal.

AFTER THE JUMP, I offer a taste of some of Lambda's most notable accomplishments. If you're interested in learning more, I encourage you to check out the organization's website, contact their staff, and see how you can help.

DOMA Repeal Legislation to Wait Until Supreme Court Rules

Legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act will not see introduction before the Supreme Court rules this June, the Washington Blade reports:

A number of LGBT advocates familiar with the legislation, which has been known as the Respect for Marriage Act, told the Washington Blade its lead sponsors — Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) in the House and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) in the Senate — are delaying introduction until after the expected court ruling in June.

Fred Sainz, HRC’s vice president of communications, said his organization supports the decision to postpone introduction of the bill until after a decision is reached in the DOMA case, known as Windsor v. United States.

“The lead sponsors of the RMA have decided to wait until after the court rules in Windsor,” Sainz said. “We support that decision and look forward to continuing to work with them to advance this important legislation.”