Global Respect Act Could Deny U.S. Visas to LGBT Discriminators
Last week, out Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) introduced a bill in the House that would deny U.S. entry visas to violators of LGBT rights.
The bill, called the Global Respect Act (H.R 4907), calls for the U.S. State Department to “protect the basic human rights of the international LGBT community” by denying human rights violators access into the U.S.
“The United States and the international community have a responsibility to condemn horrific acts of discrimination and targeted violence against all individuals, including egregious offenses based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” Rep. Cicilline said in a statement after the bill’s introduction.
This is not the first time Rep. Cicilline has introduced legislation involving the international LGBT community. Last year, the House Foreign Affairs Committee accepted Cicilline’s amendment calling for “the Secretary of State to discourage foreign governments from condoning murder and other forms of physical violence that is directed against individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
According to The Advocate, an aide to Cicilline said the legislation could likely be reconciled with a similar bill introduced by Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey. Both bills call for the State Department to monitor global conditions for LGBT people.
"Hate is not an American value, and those who are involved in passing vicious anti-LGBT laws or inflicting harm on LGBT people should not be welcome in our country," said David Stacy, HRC's Government Affairs Director. "This bill sends a clear message to those who have championed these serious human rights violations that the United States government and the American people fundamentally reject them."