Filipino lesbian couple Jay Mercado and Shirley Tan tied the knot on Tuesday, August 19, after years of fighting for marriage and immigration reform for the LGBT community. The pair from Pacifica, Calif., were wed in the presence of family and friends.
The couple has 18-year-old twin sons, Jashley and Joriene.
“It’s truly an amazing day to finally see our parents get recognized for their marriage,” Joriene said in a Balitang America report.
The ceremony was officiated by Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who strongly supports equal rights for the LGBT community. She was able to legally wed Tan and Mercado after the Supreme Court repealed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) last year.
“I think for any couple where they are bi-nationals, this is very hopeful,” Speier said.
Over five years ago, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) placed Tan under house arrest, after the government denied her request for asylum. She was allowed to stay with Mercado and her sons through a special humanitarian legislation, with aid from Speier and California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.
“The United States government has now said that there is a pathway to getting a green card, remaining in this country, and actually become a citizen if you want,” Speier commented. “I hope someday to be at the swearing in ceremonies when Shirley becomes a US citizen.”
Stuart Gaffney and John Lewis, a married couple from Marriage Equality USA who were also in attendance at the wedding, and agree that Jay Mercado and Shirley Tan’s story will set an example for many other bi-national couples who are struggling with similar immigration issues.
“We tell stories just like Jay and Shirley’s to people who aren’t familiar with the rights and responsibilities that come with marriage… and that includes all the love we see right now in this living room, and it also includes the legal right to be together as a family,” Gaffney said.
“It’s great to see equality and justice finally served, and I’m so happy for my parents,” Jashley said proudly. “I can’t wait to see what will happen in the future with all of us.”
To other LGBT couples who continue their struggle for marriage and immigration rights, Mercado and Tan encourage them to never lose hope.
“There’s hope for everyone,” Mercado said. “And now that this has come to the United States, that DOMA has been repealed, everyone can marry who they want to marry.”
“For 28 years our dreams came to its final fruition; we thought it would never happen. So thank God for everything, that we were allowed to marry the person we love,” Tan added.
(With reports from ABS-CBN News and Balitang America)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(NYNJ August 22-28, 2014 Sec. A pg.1)
