By Joe Dignan
January 1, 2004, San Francisco Bay Times
URL: http://pages.sbcglobal.net/dignanj/doc/040101c.htm
Even though US Senator Dianne Feinstein's home is here in the gay mecca of San Francisco, the Senior Senator from California does not support the Permanent Partner's Immigration Act, which would give same-sex partners the same rights as heterosexuals in immigration.
San Francisco Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D) has been an active supporter of the act by New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D). It has been introduced three times in the House, but this year is the first time it has been introduced in the Senate.
But after what advocates say were at least three formal meetings with the Senator Feinstein's staff here, in Los Angeles and in Washington, DC, they say they were finally told in July by Feinstein's aide Jason Knapp that the Senator was not prepared at the time to co-sponsor the bill.
In March the advocates, including Leslie Bulbuk of Love Sees No Borders, representatives from the NCLR, Equality California, Marriage Equality California, and the Human Rights Campaign, say they met with staffer James Molinari and Feinstein's outreach coordinator in San Francisco. They brought three bi-national couples who explained their plight.
They had two similar meetings in Los Angeles and Washington. They delivered 8,000 letters to Feinstein's office in DC imploring her to support the bill, which they had collected at Pride events around the state.
In July, Bulbuk went to Feinstein's constituent breakfast in DC and asked the Senator if she was aware of the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, "She pretty much said, No, she was not," Bulbuk said. "This was after one, two, three, meetings with her staff, maybe four."
"We have no idea if Senator Feinstein was ever presented with the information about this," Bulbuk said.
Other observers wonder if this a continuing sign of Feinstein's reluctance to support gay partnerships, evidenced by her veto of domestic partnership legislation 20 years ago when she was Mayor of San Francisco. "The Senator has supported us when we're sick, with her wholehearted support of HIV and AIDS legislation, but she doesn't seem to like us much when we're healthy and in love," observed one gay activist, who requested anonymity.
By contrast, Senator Barbara Boxer signed on as a co-sponsor after only one meeting the with advocates, Bulbuk said.
Senator Feinstein's DC-based Director of Communications, Howard Gantman, did not respond to a request for a clarification of the Senator's position on the PPIA for this article.