Moving to a new place is never easy, and moving to a new country is even more difficult. I didn't want to leave the USA. However, to be with my same-sex partner of over 10 years, I had to make a choice--move to her home country of England, move to Canada where we are legally married, or break up. We chose Canada. This blog details the experiences I've had since moving to Canada, a country that is supposedly so similar to the US, but in reality is vastly different.

Ever since Sarah and I met in 1998, the US government could not have cared less about immigration rights for same-sex bi-national couples. Every year, bills were introduced to try to remedy the unfair and painful situations that so many of us experienced, but every year, Republicans ensured that these bills never left the committee room.

After all Sarah and I have been through, all the pain, separation, and expense, there is no way I can express how wonderful it feels to see our plight acknowledged in a formal government forum. So, I won't try.

Bi-national couples have long been the forgotten children of the gay-rights movement. However, we suffer just as much, if not more than the other GLBT Americans who are disadvantaged. We are the ones who are faced with the choice of having to move out of the US or be separated from our family members. Read more... "My Life in Exile de Facto" (photo: personal; at a soccer stadium in England; Mary and Sarah together since: 1998)

Tags: USA, Canada, England