Gay partners seeking immigration changes

Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Today, Mr. Smith's partner, Steve Orney, will appear at a congressional briefing on a House bill that would give gay couples the right to obtain lawful permanent resident status, in the same manner that spouses of citizens and lawful permanent residents petition for foreign-born husbands and wives -- by showing that they are in a "permanent partnership."An estimated 36,000 same-sex couples, many with children, face similarly wrenching separations under U.S. immigration law, noted Rachel Tiven, executive director for Immigration Equality, a New York-based group