Gay couple denied entry
( 2003-09-22 10:23) (Agencies)
Canada's first legally
married couple were refused entry into the United States by a border official
who would not accept their family customs clearance form.
Kevin Bourassa and Joe Varnell of Toronto were traveling to Georgia to speak
at a conference sponsored by the Gill Foundation.
According to the couple, they abandoned their trip at Toronto’s Pearson
International Airport when the customs official insisted they fill out separate
forms.
After complaining to a supervisor, the men were told that they would not be
allowed into the United States as a family because the country does not
recognize same-sex couples.
“We had to make a difficult decision,” Bourassa said. “We could have filled
out separate forms. We felt that would have been an affront to our dignity, so
we went back home.”
David Thompson, a spokesman for Marriage Equality New York, was not surprised
by the incident. “Unfortunately, what Kevin and Joe experienced is typical of
what American couples go through all the time,” he said. “The law and the policy
of the country is that gay couples are legal strangers to one another. We aren’t
even allowed to stand together going through immigration.”
Bourassa, an advocate for same-sex marriages, and Varnell, a banking manager,
were married in 2001.
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