Gay Drain

[indigo32]

I was e-mailed this this morning

Dispirited U.S. gays choosing Canada

By MARINA JIMÉNEZ
Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - Page A11

They're calling it the gay drain. Hundreds of well-heeled gay and lesbian lawyers, professors, educators and film directors from the U.S. are immigrating to Canada, drawn by the country's recognition of same-sex rights, unions and benefits.

Craig Lucas, who wrote the popular Hollywood movies Prelude to a Kiss and The Secret Lives of Dentists, contacted a Toronto immigration lawyer last week after the election victory of Republican President George W. Bush.

"Our rights are slowly being eroded," said the award-winning screenwriter, who plans to move to Vancouver with his partner, a set designer. "It happened in Nazi Germany, the incredible brain drain of artists, scientists and writers who fled to the U.S. Now it's happening here . The government wants gays to live outside the protection of the law."

Michael Battista, a Toronto immigration lawyer, said Mr. Lucas, like many of the gay Americans who have contacted him, has just the kind of skills Canada needs and will have no trouble qualifying to immigrate under the points system.

More... http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041110/GAYDRAIN10

[sui generis]

1. don't worry about it

we are legion, in the multi-millions. A couple hundred prissy disaffected queers isn't even remotely going to impact our presence here. We're here, we're queer, get used to it. Sonovabitches.

And if there is any doubt about our economic clout . . . remember Coors and Miller Light. We can easily turn that same focus elsewhere.

[southernlad]

3. Very good post.

I agree with what you said.

[indigo32]

4. We do indeed have economic clout

I think we ought to excercise it more often.

[foreigncorrespondent]

12. Yes we do...

...but focussing on one place at a time is only damaging that one place. By queers leaving the U.S. hence taking their pink tax dollars with them, they are hurting the much larger economic area. Hence the more pink tax dollars that drop out of the system, the harder it would be for Bush* to turn the economy around. That would be noticed.

[jackelope72]

2. I say good riddance to them.

If they're not willing to fight for the right to be recognized as complete human beings in their own damn country, then fuck 'em.

[arwalden]

5. What An Odd Thing To Say.

Odd and disturbing.

[jackelope72]

6. Maybe I was a bit harsh in my wording...

but the emotion behind it still stands. It pisses me off. These people have not only the talent and skills, but the financial means and (as with people like Craig Lucas) the audience to actually make their voices heard and do something positive and farther-reaching than most in the LGBT community have. And instead of using their voices or skills to actually reach out and do something, they're turning tail and running away.

Better to wring your hands and watch the darkness from the outside than try to battle it from within, I guess.

I'm sorry if my anger and frustration are disturbing you.

[arwalden]

7. No, Your Anger And Frustration Do Not Disturb Me.

... but the way you choose to express it does.

I think that renouncing US citizenship and becoming a Canadian is a very prudent and wise thing to do. I wish I could do the same.

How can these people be accused of abandoning ("running away") from a country that has abandoned them? It's not just a matter of being neglected or forgotten... it's a matter of being TARGETED by both the church AND the state.

How easy it must be for some folks to look down in judgment of those who leave (or desire to leave) to improve the quality of lives, or the lives of their families, or who leave out of concern for their own safety and existence.

How is it up there? Pretty cool?

[foreigncorrespondent]

13. Oh my!

You certainly do have a way with words, for something you obviously don't understand.

[pagerbear]

14. I wonder if that's what folks said to Jews in Europe in the 30s

Probably so.

[Technowitch]

8. My "United States" is roughly 1/3 smaller than that enjoyed by heteros

How so, you may ask? Because that's how many states have laws that not only ban any legal recognition of my California domestic partnership, but also now explicitly have laws that make our other legal paperwork (wills, power of attorney, etc.) of dubious validity. And let's not even get into those places where laws and law enforcement turns a blind eye to harassment and crimes against gays & lesbians.

Meanwhile, here we are, getting bashed for being 'uppity' in the last election and blamed for Kerry's loss.

This is why my wife and I are asking if we shouldn't go somewhere else, where we'd be welcomed.

[Q3JR4]

9. Exactly.

We have all of this financial might, but when it comes to our rights some Dems would like us to shut up about them and move to the back of the bus, while at the same time they expect us to contribute to a candidate who favors this discrimination.

As far as I'm concerned, Kerry lost because of Kerry (unwillingness to "make every vote count"). I'm glad that he stood up for us (gay America), and that goes a long way toward him getting some of my respect back. That being said, don't get me started about Clinton.

I haven't yet decided if I'm going to move or not. It all depends on what happens in the coming years.

[arwalden]

10. Something Similar Is Taking Place In Virginia...

... a law was passed that (essentially) invalidated any legal contracts between two homosexuals. They were of course targeting the legal documents and personal contracts (powers of attorney, health care directives, wills, etc.) but the law is so vague and all encompassing that ANY contract gets included.

Which would mean that any contractual transaction or obligations between two Queers would be invalid. If I sold my house to another homo... he would be out of luck, and I'd still own the house (or vice versa).

Why should I love this country again? It's not as though I'm merely "forgotten" or "neglected"... we're the FUCKING TARGETS OF THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT AND THE REPUKES!

[Moloch]

11. I am also considering Canada...

I have had it with our regressive laws in the states, and I can only imagine how terrible a 2nd term for * will be. I fear that we will be going to war with Iran, Syria and North Korea and I want no part of it.

I was thinking about moving to Victoria, BC. I've only been there once and that was 10 years ago, but I remember it being a beautiful, clean city and that it was relatively crime free. Anyone from this area that can tell me more about it?

[vajraroshana]

15. I'll stay here in Alabama

If I leave, that will leave too big a vacuum of wonderful people!

Seriously, that would take out me and my partner of 18 years and that would leave a big gap in the wonderful people that are here.

There are actually a lot of wonderful people here in Alabama, despite all the "red" counties.

And let me just add...

IF WE CAN DO IT IN ALABAMA, THEN YOU FOLKS LIVING IN MUCH EASIER BLUE STATES CAN DO IT AS WELL!!!

So very sorry for the all-caps, but I hope you can understand how I feel.