Get Your Own! | View Slideshow
Get Your Own! | View Slideshow
I met my life partner three years ago online. First year was just chatting and getting to know each other. I learned that he had full custody of a twelve year old daughter and was raising her by himself. I learned he was from Israel and was here on a work visa. He was having concerns about coming out of the closet and I was there to hear his fears and help him through his struggle. We met in person and of course sparks flew. I met his beautiful daughter. It was a little hard on her, she was used to having daddy all to herself, but we got through it. We carved pumpkins at Halloween and exchanged gifts early for Christmas/Hanukah because she was flying to Israel for Christmas break. For my gift, Ben took us to Key West and for the first time in his life, he experienced what it felt like to be an openly gay man, and he never looked back after that. Shortly after that trip he asked me to marry him. So there it was. We were the three musketeers. His daughter turned out to be my best friend. We did all the “girly†stuff together. Shopping, clothes and makeup Coming to my work for hair and waxing, and helping me in the kitchen. She was also able to have friends over for sleep overs. My family immediately welcomed them into the family. Proudly introduced us and talked about us as a family. MY DREAM COME TRUE FOR A WHOLE YEAR AND A HALF. Ben got laid off from his job of five years and then found out that the visa he was here with was not his. It was the companies visa. We had to give up the house we were renting with the plan to buy one in the near future, put everything we didn’t immediately need in storage, and back to Israel my life partner and step daughter went. Ben applied for his own visa and didn’t get picked this year. So unless legislation approves another 50k applicants in October, we will have to be apart for over a year, and even when he applies again,, its no guarantee that he will get picked for a visa. I keep thinking about the phrases “LAND OF THE FREEâ€,†ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUALâ€, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALLâ€. Right now it all sounds like cheap talk. Conservatives want to put god as the reason for not allowing same sex marriage, but in Israel, birth place of Jesus, same sex couples have full marital rights. If its ok there, then why not here? This letter is going to everyone that I can think of that has a public voice I WORK HARD IN THE UNITED STATES I PAY TAXES IN THE UNITED STATES I DESERVE THE RIGHT TO HAPPINESS IN THE UNITED STATESI WANT LEGISLATION TO APPROVE ANOTHER 50K VISAS I WANT SAME SEX MARRIAGE WITH ALL THE BENEFITS THAT GO WITH IT I WANT MY FAMILY BACK !THANK YOU, Neil Culpepper Po 483 Oakwood il. 61858 [email protected]