An LGBT rights supporter waves an "equality flag" on Capitol Hill in 2017. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP photo congress Democratic senators demand Pompeo reverse visa denials for LGBTQ diplomats' partners

Twenty Democratic senators on Thursday urged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to reverse course on the "unnecessarily cruel" decision to end an Obama-era policy that granted visas to the same-sex partners of LGBTQ diplomats whose unions are not recognized by their home countries.

In July, the U.S. mission to the United Nations informed foreign delegations that beginning Oct. 1, the State Department would no longer issue G-4 visas to same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and U.N. officials who are not legally married, reversing a policy that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had instituted.


The Democratic senators — led by Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Chris Coons of Delaware — expressed concern over the policy change, saying it would permit discrimination toward the diplomats. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, also signed the letter.

"In too many places around the world, LGBTQ individuals are subjected to discrimination and unspeakable violence, and receive little or no protection from the law or local authorities," the senators wrote. "To bar LGBTQ diplomats from bringing their partners to the United States is to condone the discriminatory policies of many countries around the world."

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A spokesperson for the State Department confirmed the agency received the letter and said it would respond "through appropriate channels."

According to the letter, 69 countries around the world criminalize same-sex relations. Additionally, in 10 countries — all U.N. member states — LGBTQ people face the death penalty for their orientation.

Under the new policy, diplomats' and U.N. officials' partners must produce evidence of legal marriage by Dec. 1 or leave the country within 30 days.

"Consular policies should never act as a deterrent for LGBTQ diplomats who want to represent their countries in the United States," the signatories wrote.

Last week, 119 House Democrats sent a letter to Pompeo slamming the policy change.

A Senate Democratic aide told POLITICO that a "limited exception" described by the State Department, which would allow some same-sex couples to remain together in the United States, was unsatisfactory because it was not written down anywhere and appeared to be an "internal verbal agreement." The senators urged Pompeo to delay implementing the policy change until the revised guidance is published on a public website.

The Democrats also wrote that Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court decision that guaranteed a right to same-sex marriage in the U.S., which Pompeo opposed while serving as a congressman, "sent a signal to the world about the importance of equal rights for all."

"We must ensure our policies continue to expand, not curtail, the opportunities for those around the world who still face discrimination for their sexual orientation," the senators wrote.

