.contact us |.about us
News > Lifestyle News ...
Search:
    Advertisement
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.

 
Close  
   
  Today's Top News   Top Lifestyle News
   
+First private publications venture OK'd
( 2003-09-22)
+Endangered tiger endangers men
( 2003-09-22)
+16 stranded on small island in Tibet
( 2003-09-22)
+US$9.7 billion to roll into auto industry
( 2003-09-22)
+Executives arrested over tunnel cave-in
( 2003-09-22)
+Gay couple denied entry
( 2003-09-22)
+China¡¯s first pet crematorium opens
( 2003-09-22)
+Translation training improved
( 2003-09-22)
+China plans to establish social credit system in five years
( 2003-09-22)
+Chinese women change attitudes toward sexual life: survey
( 2003-09-22)
   
  Go to Another Section  
     
 
 
     
  Article Tools  
     
   
     
  Related Articles  
     
 

+Britain repeals gay law after long fight
2003-09-19

+Canadian gay married couple hits snag at U.S. border
2003-09-19

+Canada may alter gay marriage plans, minister says
2003-09-18

+High school for gay students draws criticism
2003-08-26

+The future of gay marriage
2003-08-12

+Episcopalian conservatives protest gay vote
2003-08-07

+NYC to open first gay public high school
2003-07-30

+HIV cases climb among gay, bisexual men
2003-07-29

 
     
   
        .contact us |.about us
  Copyright By chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved