Homosexual Marriage Amendment Could Harm Immigration Bill

Gay-rights activists are concerned the Senate’s immigration reform proposal does not provide a path to citizenship for foreign-born partners of gay Americans, but changing the bill could jeopardize its future.

Same-sex marriages and civil unions are not recognized by the federal government, so the unions of an estimated 36,000 couples will not be considered legal under bill unless U.S. laws are changed – or the Supreme Court strikes down the Defense of Marriage Act, Politico reported Friday.

Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has made gay marriage rights a top priority in recent years, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activists expect him or Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin to introduce an amendment to the bill to address the issue.

But that could cause a split among the so-called Gang of Eight senators who wrote the bipartisan measure.

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