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It's official: Chely Wright is a 'Single White Female' no longer.

Following a highly public four-month engagement, the openly gay country singer tied the knot today in Connecticut, saying "I do" to GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) activist Lauren Blitzer.

Throughout Friday, the eve of her big day, Chely took to Twitter to thank fans for their support. She also posted a picture of a Scrabble-style rug Lauren's aunt Debbie had made for the couple as a wedding gift. Words spelled out across the fuzzy board include "Connecticut," "authors," "music" and "marriage."

While the two lovebirds, like any couple, have their differences – Chely is a Christian vegetarian from Kansas, while Lauren is a Jewish meat eater from New York City -- the wedding was to reflect both brides' personalities.

Earlier this year, Chely told People magazine that a rabbi and priest would preside over the ceremony, while New York City barbecue restaurant Blue Smoke was to handle the menu. Because live wedding bands make Chely "nervous," the singer opted not to hire one.

"Sometimes they're not great, and I'd be going, 'Ugh, that doesn't sound right,'" Chely told People, explaining her decision to hire a deejay. "So we're going to play all the campiest, cheesiest songs you can think of -- 'Vogue,' 'You Shook Me All Night Long' ..."

Chely first met Lauren in the spring of 2010, weeks after becoming the first mainstream country artist to publicly out herself as a lesbian. The two were drawn together by youth advocacy work in New York City, where they reside. While the Empire State now recognizes same-sex marriages, the law hadn't yet passed in April, when the couple became engaged.

:cheers:

Ignacio Estrada, Wendy Iriepa Wed In Country's First-Of-Its-Kind Ceremony

Cuban transsexual bride Wendy Iriepa (L) and her groom Ignacio Estrada leave on August 13, 2011, in Havana, after the first transsexual wedding in Cuba.

HAVANA — A gay man and a woman whose sex-change operation was paid for by the state tied the knot Saturday in a first-of-its-kind wedding for Cuba, a sign of how much the country's attitude toward sexuality has changed since gays and transsexuals suffered persecution in the early years after the revolution.

Bride Wendy Iriepa, 37, arrived at a Havana wedding hall in the afternoon in a vintage Ford convertible and a full white wedding gown, flowers in her hair and holding a rainbow flag. Neighborhood residents came out of their homes to gawk at the wedding party and the journalists mobbing the car.

"This is the first wedding between a transsexual woman and a gay man," said the 31-year-old groom, Ignacio Estrada. "We celebrate it at the top of our voices and affirm that this is a step forward for the gay community in Cuba."

Inside, a public notary joined them in a brief civil ceremony and the newlyweds kissed to cheers from friends and family.

Gay marriage is not legal in Cuba and Saturday's wedding does nothing to change that since Iriepa, born Alexis, is a woman in the eyes of the law.

Iriepa had sex-change surgery in 2007 as part of a pilot program that began in earnest the following year and made gender-reassignment procedures part of the island's universal health care system. One other transgender woman married many years ago, but Iriepa is the first to do so under the new policy.

In the early years after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, homosexuality was considered highly suspect along with other "alternative" forms of expression, such as U.S. fashion trends and rock and roll.

Many gays and transsexuals were fired from government jobs, jailed, sent to work camps or left for exile. That climate of persecution was famously chronicled by exiled writer Reinaldo Arenas' autobiographical "Before Night Falls," later a feature film starring Javier Bardem.

Today, even if deep-seated macho attitudes toward homosexuality have not entirely disappeared, the island and its government are much more tolerant.

The country's most prominent gay rights activist is Mariela Castro, Fidel Castro's niece and President Raul Castro's daughter. She heads the National Sex Education Center and is firmly established in Cuban officialdom.

At a transgender event Friday, she spoke of her institution's work, including anti-homophobia campaigns and pushing the state to cover the sex change operations. Castro is also lobbying for same-sex unions, though no law has yet been passed.

"One of our accomplishments has made it possible for Wendy to get married," she said. "It seems she found the love of her life and we wish her many congratulations, because all of our work has been for this, the well-being and happiness of our sisters."

Like so many things in Cuba, Saturday's nuptials have been politicized and Castro's congratulatory words belied divisions that have taken hold within the gay movement.

Some have accused her of monopolizing the cause and struck out on their own, organizing a separate, smaller pride march this year and coming to be labeled members of a "dissident" gay community.

Estrada was part of that march, and Iriepa has parted ways with her job at the Sex Education Center, reportedly after Mariela Castro questioned the relationship.

Soon after, Estrada and Iriepa announced their upcoming wedding and said political dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez, whose writings about daily life have earned her both international fame and harsh condemnation from the government, would be maid of honor.

"How positive! Cuba now shows itself to be a kaleidoscope of ideas… The only thing missing is for them not to be repressed," Sanchez said via Twitter.

Leaders of the Ladies in White dissident group also attended.

Estrada, in recent comments to U.S.-based Radio Marti, called the marriage a "birthday present to Fidel Castro to remind him of the atrocities he committed against the Cuban gay community, above all in the 1960s."

Fidel Castro, who turned 85 on Saturday, has expressed regret in recent years over the treatment of gays during that period, saying it was a mistake.

Mariela Castro said she was not invited to the wedding and accused rivals in the gay community of taking democracy-building money from Washington.

"U.S. government funds exist here to create LGBT (lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual) groups that oppose the position of the National Sex Education Center," she alleged.

U.S. officials have spoken of retargeting funds to Afro-Cuban and LGBT groups, though it is not clear whether any such financial support has begun.

"I think this has been politicized by the Cuban government. I have not wanted to make this into a circus or something really political," said Iriepa, who thanked Mariela Castro for wishing them well. "It is the happiest day of my life."

The couple celebrated after the wedding at a party space next door and planned to honeymoon in an undisclosed location for a bit of privacy, Estrada said.

SAN DIEGO – Former Air Force officer Michael Almy's five-year battle to get back into the military after being discharged for being gay is still far from over despite the end of the policy that halted the decorated war veteran's 13-year career and left him curled up on his bathroom floor, crying.

The repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" coincides with the most competitive time in recent history to get into the military because of the sluggish economy, and the Defense Department says it has no plans to give priority to those discharged for being gay, even if they still meet the military's age limits, fitness standards and cutoffs for time out of service.

Many, like Almy, a 41-year-old former Air Force major, see the only way back to active-duty as being through the courts.

He and two other discharged officers – one from the Air Force officer and one from the Navy – are suing the Justice Department to demand they be reinstated, and they hope a federal appeals court will help their efforts by upholding a lower court ruling last year that declared the law unconstitutional.

Activists believe if the ruling stands it could open the legal doors for a class-action suit or settlement for many of the nearly 14,000 military members discharged under the nearly 18-year-old policy that prohibited the military from asking about the sexual orientation of service members but required discharge of those who acknowledged being gay or were discovered to be engaging in homosexual activity.

"The sad truth is repeal really does nothing for people thrown out of the military," Almy said. "There is no restitution, no reparations, no special personnel process to help those to get back in the military who were thrown out."

Almy said he never admitted to the military he was gay, but was discharged under the policy in 2006 after a service member snooped through his emails on a government-issued computer in Iraq when Almy's deployment there ended.

Almy testified for the Log Cabin Republicans at a trial last year. U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips temporarily halted the policy after the trial, declaring the law violated the constitutional free speech and due process rights of gay military members.

Shortly before being honorably discharged, Almy was recognized as one of the top officers in the Air Force for his leadership skills in running an exemplary unit that helped maintain control over the vast majority of Iraq's air space during the war.

Even after his discharge, his wing commander formally recommended to the Air Force promotion board that he be promoted to lieutenant colonel, ahead of his peers, because of his outstanding performance, according to his testimony under oath.

Almy estimates his discharge cost him $1.5 million in retirement benefits, the amount he says he would have received if he had been allowed to complete his 20 years in the service.

Dan Woods, an attorney for the Log Cabin Republicans, said if the lower court ruling is upheld by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals it could bolster the cases of thousands of former service members, like Almy, who "are still suffering the collateral consequences of being discharged under this unconstitutional law."

"A lot of people lost opportunities for promotion, a lot people might want to re-apply but can't because now they're too old," Woods said. "Those people ought to have the right to use our case to try to get their discharged status changed, or to try to get reinstated, or try to get back pay."

Woods said the Obama administration wants his case dismissed because it does not want "to deal with some 14,000 people making claims for back pay and reinstatement. That's really what it's about."

Justice Department officials declined to comment. DOJ attorneys have argued in their court filings that the lower court made its decision before the repeal process began and that repeal of a statute invalidates such constitutional challenges.

The 9th Circuit will hear arguments from both sides Sept. 1 at a hearing in Pasadena, Calif.

The law is scheduled to be abolished Sept. 20. But if the policy's fallout is still having an impact on people's lives then the court could still rule on the constitutionality of the case, said Erwin Chemerinsky, University of California, Irvine's law school dean.

For Almy, the victory of repealing the policy has been bittersweet as he celebrates for today's gay service members while struggling to get back the life he feels was stolen from him. "To get back on active duty is really next to impossible without the lawsuit," he said.

The Defense Department has said that the negative re-entry codes on the discharge paperwork of those kicked out under the policy will be waived, and that applicants with honorable discharges will be treated like other prior service applicants and accepted based on need. But that need is dwindling.

Traditionally, the military services bring in prior-service recruits for certain specialties, but even those positions are far fewer today, said Defense Department spokeswoman Eileen Lainez. The percentage of prior-service members among the active-duty recruits has dropped from 5 percent to 3 percent.

All military branches are at full capacity as people flock to the military for jobs or choose to stay in longer. With budget tightening and the expectation the Afghanistan war is winding down, the branches plan to trim their numbers.

The Army is looking to cut 22,000 starting in October after getting a temporary surge in troops in 2009, while the Marine Corps plans to slim down from 202,000 down to 186,000 in the next few years.

The Navy will cut 3,000 officers in the next few months because the promotion lines are so clogged "there is no place for anybody to go," Navy Adm. Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations, told The Associated Press. The Air Force at the same time is going to start letting go several hundred of its 9,000 officers.

Jenny L. Kopfstein said she applied in March to be a Navy attorney but was turned down.

The former decorated Navy officer from San Diego, who has testified three times about her 2002 discharge, said she doesn't know if she was rejected because "don't ask, don't tell" is still in place or because there were no positions available for her.

She's going to try again in the fall but time is running short for the 36-year-old to meet the military's age limits. If she doesn't get in, Kopfstein said she might become a civilian lawyer who works with the military or another kind of government attorney.

Almy said he is not ready to let go of his dream.

"This is what I had dedicated all my life to doing," said Almy, who followed in the footsteps of his father and uncles, all former Air Force officers. "That's where my heart is. That's what my passion is – to be an officer, a leader in the Air Force. I miss the missions, the camaraderie, the esprit de corps."

"I never had a desire to do anything else when I was growing up, and I still don't to this day," he said

Three third-graders, a Jew, an Italian, and an African American are on the playground at recess. The Jewish kid suggests that they play a new game. "Let's see who has the largest dick," he says. "Okay," they all agree.

The Jewish kid pulls down his zipper and whips it out. "That's nothing," says the Italian kid. He whips his out. His is a couple of inches longer. Not to be outdone, the African American whips his out. It is far the biggest, dwarfing the other two in both length and width. The Jewish and Italian kid are stunned and amazed. "Wow, that thing is huge!" they exclaim.

That night, eating dinner at home, the African American's mother asks him what he did at school today.

"Oh, we worked on a science project, had a math test and read out loud from a new book …and during recess, my friends and I played "Let's see who has the largest dick."

"What kind of game is that, honey?" says the mother.

"Well, me, Sidney and Anthony each pulled out our penises, and I had the biggest! The other kids say its because I'm black. Is that true, Mom?"

The mom replies: "No, honey. It's because you're twenty-three."

One day a freight ship is steaming across the south Pacific and the lookout spies a small island that doesn't appear on any of their maps so they steer toward it. As they get closer they see smoke that appears to be some sort of smoke signal, so the Captain dispatches a small boat to land on the island and investigate. The boat returns with a grizzled old man, a beautiful young woman, and a midget who is only one foot (30cm) tall, who have been stranded on the island. That night the Captain hosts them for dinner and the old man explains that he had been trying to sail around the world in his small sailboat and the boat capsized in a storm and he managed to swim to the island. The woman explained that she had been on a cruise ship, drank too much and went out for some fresh air and fell overboard but managed to swim ashore.

"Interesting" said the Captain. "And you?" he asked the midget.

"Before we get to that, why don't you play us some music?" the old man says to the midget. And the midget goes over to a piano and starts playing some of the most beautiful piano concertos the Captain has ever heard.

"Yes, he's a fine concert pianist" the old man says. He pulls out an ancient looking oil lamp. "The genie in this lamp brought him to the island" he explains. It's a magic lamp I found on the island, if you rub it with both hands the genie inside appears and she grants you a wish. And as a token of my appreciation for rescuing us I give it to you" he says, handing the lamp to the Captain. "But be very careful what you wish for - she only grants you one wish, and she's a little hard of hearing".

"What do you mean?" the Captain asks, with a confused look on his face.

"Well", the old man explains, "I was stranded on a deserted island with a beautiful young woman. Do you really think I would wish for a 12 inch pianist"?

There is at least one petition out right now with 5,000 signatures requesting that Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie get married.  You've probably read about it and maybe it seems like harmless amusement from people whose heart is in the right place in the realm of gay-marriage rights.  There is just one problem.  Bert and Ernie are not gay.  The producers of Sesame Street have said as much.  Since Bert and Ernie are fictional characters, said producers are the final word on such a subject.  Want to know how I know Dumbledore is gay, even though not one reference to his sexuality is made during all seven Harry Potter books?  Because JK Rowling told me as much.  She created the character and if she says he's gay, then he's gay.  And if the producers of Sesame Street say that Bert and Ernie are merely platonic friends living asexually in the same apartment, then one must accept them at their word.  Bert and Ernie are not gay, therefore there is little-to-no chance that they are in the kind of romantic relationship that brings about marriage, thus they should not be getting married.

But they are two guys living together!  But they are both well-dressed, polite, and neat!  But they obviously aren't family and seem to spend much of their time together!  So obviously they are secretly gay, right?  No.  I discussed this back in January 2010 (Click here), but the answer is still no.  Sherlock Holmes and John Watson are not homosexuals.  Batman and Robin don't make-out in the Batcave after the last villain is sent to Arkham.  Sam is not Frodo's unrequited gay lover.  Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr do not secretly have the hots for each other.  Time and time again, we of the pundit class constantly decide, no matter how thin the evidence, that any two men or boys who have any kind of friendship or emotional attachment to each other are clearly involved in some kind of homosexual relationship.  Hell, in my younger days, I made the Bert/Ernie jokes as well as part of a larger rant about the unusual demographic makeup of Sesame Street (i.e. you have an obsessive-compulsive eater, a six-foot bird with gender-identity issues, a homeless, depressive hoarder, and a vampire!).  But this kind of wink-wink, nudge-nudge foolery masks a deeper strain of homophobia at its root.  And its acceptance by those who wield critical and societal authority teaches a horrible lesson.

By the constant need to ascribe homosexual leanings to any two men who happen to be in the same room together for more than a few minutes, we are in fact teaching a terrible lesson to society and especially to young men.  We are in fact teaching them that any kind of emotional connection between two males is in fact 'gay'.  We are teaching that any kind of emotional connection between male fictional characters is to be ridiculed and considered 'queer'.  No, there is no such thing as two men or young boys being close friends and even having an emotional connection.  Nope, they OBVIOUSLY have to be secretly gay and/or in love with each other.  Bring that down to a societal level, especially one such as ours that still often punishes homosexuality, and you have an entire generation of men and boys who are convinced that being friends with another 'dude' on any level other than surface-level will cause them to be called out as 'gay'.  And, if it must be said, this kind of automatic presumption of homosexuality is indeed an insult to actual gay men.  It is insulting both in its content (it doesn't take real homosexuality seriously) and its reaction (the constant teasing and mockery).  Sometimes, two guys hanging out together, be it for solving crime or teaching the alphabet, are really just friends.

Bert and Ernie are just friends.  I know that because the producers of Sesame Street told me so.  Does the Gay Rights Movement really want to be seen as forcing two men to get married irrespective of their actual say in the matter?  Just because they are close friends who both happen to be male doesn't meant that they are secretly lovers pining to get married.  In a nation where real gay couples are unable to get married in their home state, it is an insult and a cheapening of their real love to demand that two fictional television puppets get married just because they fit into certain gay stereotypes.  There is plenty of work left to do in the struggle for equal rights for the LGBT community.  Those involved (and those who support their struggles) surely have more important things to do then forcing two unwilling Muppets to tie the knot.  And they certainly don't want to send the message to men everywhere that a man can't be kind and friendly to another man without being considered homosexual.  Real men, regardless of sexual orientation, can be friends with other men.

Scott Mendelson

Bert And Ernie Gay Marriage? Sesame Street Says No

Bert and Ernie will not be getting married. To each other, or anyone else.

The demands of a petition calling for Bert and Ernie to get married, which has become an internet sensation in the last few years, has been gently denied by the Sesame Street Workshop, who issued this statement on their Facebook page:

Bert and Ernie are best friends. They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves. Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits and characteristics (as most Sesame Street Muppets do), they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation.

This isn't the first time the organization has moved to deny a sexual relationship between their two roommate puppets; in June 2010, a tweet sent from the Sesame Street Twitter account from Bert that said his mohawk was more "mo" than "hawk" was suspected by bloggers to be a sort of coded acknowledgment of their relationship.

Bloggers also took as a hint the large number of gay guest stars from that season, to which Sesame Street responded, "We've always reached out to a variety of actors and athletes and celebrities to appear on the show, and our programming has always appealed to adults as much as children."

Though the Naperville, Ill.-based anti-gay group Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) recently lost their 5013, tax-exempt organizational status, the group, officially designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center last year, is keeping busy with a new campaign to uphold the federal ban against gay blood donors.

AFTAH's campaign, called "Keep the Gay Blood Ban" or "KGB²," was announced last Friday. The campaign urges individuals to contact their senators and congressmen "to put the safety of Americans — and a pristine blood supply — ahead of the demands of the selfish Homosexuality Lobby." The group urges, further, for Congress to embark on an "investigation into the health hazards of homosexual behaviors (just as the government studied the dangers of smoking)."

As AFTAH president Peter LaBarbera hints at, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has taken steps in the last year toward dismantling the gay blood ban, which has been on the books since 1983, according to the Washington Independent. In 2010, some 40 members of U.S. Congress, led by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), called for the department to lift the ban. Just last month, the department announced that they had begun a comprehensive evaluation of doing just that.

LaBarbera lashes out against Kerry and Quigley for ignoring "the politically incorrect reality is that male-on-male sex and the 'gay' sexual culture are extremely high-risk due directly to the dangerously perverse and unsanitary acts – and unprecedented promiscuity — practiced by 'men who have sex with men.'" With its new campaign, LaBarbera vows to present the "harsh, shocking realities of homosexual sexual behavior," and is getting started with a number of "graphic and vulgar descriptions of homosexual acts" excerpted throughout his post.

The existing ban prohibits any man who has sex with another man even once since 1977 from donating blood and has sometimes resulted in donors who are "effeminate" being turned away from donation centers -- as 22-year-old Aaron Pace experienced in Gary, Ind., last month.

In a statement released in late July, Quigley said that he, alongside Kerry would "continue to push for a behavior-based screening process both in the name of fairness and a safer blood supply.”

Current law requires that all donated blood be tested for HIV and other infectious diseases as it is. A 2010 study by the Williams Institute estimated that, if the gay blood donor ban would be lifted, the nation's blood supply would be increased by more than 200,000 pints per year.


See this post <–------> http://forum.gaytorrent.ru/index.php?topic=7029.0

Should Bert and Ernie get married? Over 900 people think so.

A petition started by Lair Scott, exhorts the makers of Sesame Street to let the two old friends get hitched. Gay marriage became legal in New York this June, increasing the number of states in the country to do so to six.

The petition letter reads:

In this horrific age of LGBT kids taking their own lives, they need to know that they ARE BEAUTIFUL and their lives are worth living. Aside from those that are committing suicide, the bullies that facilitate these tragedies need to learn that homophobia is NOT okay. They need to know that acceptance of their fellow human beings would indeed plant a seed of peace that will reverberate throughout the world. We are not asking that Sesame Street do anything crude or disrespectful by allowing Bert & Ernie to marry. It can be done in a tasteful way. Let us teach tolerance of those that are different. Let Sesame Street and PBS Kids be a big part in saving many worthy lives.

The pair of puppets has long been rumored to be a veiled representation of a gay couple, though the Children's Television Workshop has denied that this is the case.

The petition echoes the message of the "It Gets Better" project, founded in 2010 following the suicides of a number of young gay men, including Tyler Clementi, Billy Lucas and others.

Reactions thus far have been mixed. An editorial in the New York Daily News, headlined "Folks who want a gay marriage for Bert and Ernie of 'Sesame Street' need to get over themselves," went on to say:

"Why stop there? Why not march Yogi Bear and Boo Boo down the aisle, too?… Some stages of life - for example, the years from 2 to 4 - must be walled off from the passions of adults."

Alyssa Rosenberg at Think Progress agrees, but for different reasons. If Bert and Ernie were gay, she would be all for a marriage, but Rosenberg has a problem with same-sex roommates being equated with gay couples.

"I think it’s actively unhelpful to gay and straight men alike to perpetuate the idea that all same-sex roommates, be they puppet or human, must necessarily be a gay couple," Rosenberg wrote. "Having close, affectionate friendships with another man doesn’t mean that you two are sleeping together."

Twitter is just starting to buzz with reactions. Many are encouraging circulating the petition, some are incredulous and others are having a laugh -- one user quipped that it Batman and Robin should be first.

Since its start in 1969, Sesame Street has traditionally taken on difficult subjects in an effort to educate children, including divorce, tolerance of racial diversity, and real life disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Recently, Archie Comics introduced its first gay character in Veronica. The first same-sex marriage on daytime TV occurred in 2009, on the soap opera "All My Children."

I do not usually go for that young but he is a hottie and would make a nice Bear Cub…......................... :cheers:

The Brighton & Hove Gay Men’s Chorus will release their debut album of alternative music in October.

A gay men's choir which performs hits by Neil Young and Radiohead has landed a lucrative record deal with the label behind Lady GaGa.

The 30-strong Brighton & Hove Gay Men's Chorus will release its debut album later this year after signing a deal, said to be worth around £1 million.

The choir is working on its repertoire of alternative rock songs in an effort to get away from cliched gay anthems.

The deal with Universal Records - also home to U2 - is thought to be the first major label contract for a gay men's choir.

Also among their repertoire are songs by David Bowie, Ian McCulloch of Echo And The Bunnymen and The Enemy.

The group - which features a barman, a baker, a teacher and a travel agent - was formed six years ago by members John Hamilton and Jason Pimblett.

One of the aims - along with providing a sense of community - was to embrace styles which were not normally associated with the gay community.

"When we started the chorus, part of what we wanted to do was to help to break down some barriers and misconceptions of what gay people are," said chorus chairman Mr Hamilton.

"Rather than being a gay chorus, we're a chorus of men that happen to be gay."

Mr Pimblett, the group's musical director, said: "We wanted to concentrate more on the music, and not necessarily be pigeonholed into 'oh you can do that but you can't do that'.

"There was room in Brighton for an organisation of gay men who wanted to sing but didn't necessarily want to do the repertoire which you would normally associate with a gay men's chorus."

Their gigs so far have included a Second World War show with Dame Vera Lynn singing one of her signature tunes, We'll Meet Again, a show at the Foreign Office and functions for civil dignitaries in Brighton. They will also perform at Pride Brighton And Hove on Saturday.

The Brighton & Hove Gay Men's Chorus will release their eponymous debut album on October 3.

Washington –

Citing the Defense of Marriage Act, the Obama administration denied immigration benefits to a married gay couple from San Francisco and ordered the expulsion of a man who is the primary caregiver to his AIDS-afflicted spouse.

Bradford Wells, a U.S. citizen, and Anthony John Makk, a citizen of Australia, were married seven years ago in Massachusetts. They have lived together 19 years, mostly in an apartment in the Castro district. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied Makk's application to be considered for permanent residency as a spouse of an American citizen, citing the 1996 law that denies all federal benefits to same-sex couples.

The decision was issued July 26. Immigration Equality, a gay-rights group that is working with the couple, received the notice Friday and made it public Monday. Makk was ordered to depart the United States by Aug. 25. Makk is the sole caregiver for Wells, who  has severe health problems.

"I'm married just like any other married person in this country," Wells said. "At this point, the government can come in and take my husband and deport him. It's infuriating. It's upsetting. I have no power, no right to keep my husband in this country. I love this country, I live here, I pay taxes and I have no right to share my home with the person I married."

Husband's pleas

Wells pleaded with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and President Obama to intervene.

"Anyone can identify with the horror of having the government come in and destroy your family when you've done nothing wrong, and you've done everything right, followed every law," Wells said.

The agency's decision cited the Defense of Marriage Act as the reason for the denial of an I-130 visa, or spousal petition that could allow Makk to apply for permanent U.S. residency. "The claimed relationship between the petitioner and the beneficiary is not a petitionable relationship," the decision said. "For a relationship to qualify as a marriage for purposes of federal law, one partner must be a man and the other a woman."

Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder decided earlier this year that the law, commonly known as DOMA, is unconstitutional on equal protection grounds and that the administration would no longer defend it in court. House Republicans hired an outside counsel to defend it instead. However, the administration said it would continue to enforce the law, while exercising discretion on a case-by-case basis.

ICE's director, John Morton, issued a memorandum in June that offered guidance to agents in making enforcement decisions. Because no law enforcement agency can pursue every case, they routinely prioritize where to commit the government's limited resources.

The memorandum said prosecutions should seek to promote "national security, border security, public safety and the integrity of the immigration system."

Makk meets several of the circumstances specified in the memorandum. Aside from being a spouse of an American citizen, he is also the primary caretaker of a citizen, has no criminal history, and has legally resided in the country under various visas for many years.

The couple said they spent nearly $2,000 to file the petition that was denied, and now must decide whether to file a motion to reconsider the decision, which Wells said would almost certainly be denied, giving the couple at most another 30 days of residency.

Makk gave up a professional career in Australia to be with Wells, and started a business in San Francisco and invested in rental property to meet various visa requirements. He said he has never remained in the country illegally.
Poor alternatives

Wells could move to Australia, but he said doing so would require him to give up his extensive medical care and insurance in the United States.

"We are appealing to the Obama administration to begin to put into action what they've said repeatedly they can do," said Immigration Equality spokesman Steve Ralls. "The Department of Homeland Security and ICE have said again and again that they can exercise discretion in individual cases, but they have not done so for a single gay or lesbian couple yet."

In rare cases, lawmakers can introduce so-called private bills to shield specific immigrants from deportation, but only after deportation proceedings have begun. Such bills are considered a last resort.

Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, said Pelosi has contacted immigration officials on behalf of the couple and "will be working to exhaust all appropriate immigration remedies that are open to pursue."