Ricky Martin: Gay, and Against Arizona's Immigration Law

by Michael Jones · 2010-04-30 08:26:00 UTC
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Ricky MartinPop star and fortunate homosexual Ricky Martin made his first public appearance at the Billboard Latin Music Awards since coming out of the closet. Fans and music insiders rejoiced by giving him a standing ovation, but it wasn't the fact that Martin showed up that's really important. It's that he lent his name to a growing list of actors, activists, politicians, and celebrities blasting Arizona's new immigration law as horrendous.

Arizona's new law, dubbed by many as the new apartheid, will allow state and local law enforcement officers to detain anyone they suspect of being in the United States "illegally." It then puts the burden of proof on the people who are detained to prove that they're not "illegal," requiring them to show paperwork lest they be thrown in jail, or worse, deported.

You know a law is bad when Jeb Bush, Cardinal Roger Mahoney, Rachel Maddow, Barack Obama, Tom Tancredo, Gov. Rick Perry, and Linda Rondstadt are all in agreement that the law is "retrogressive" and "mean-spirited." Meaning that if these folks, from as far across the political spectrum as you can get, agree that it's bad, it must be pretty darn bad.

Add Ricky Martin to their team. Martin used his first public appearance since coming out of the closet not to talk about his new openly gay life, but to wish everyone a peaceful and happy life, and to wish a speedy death to Arizona's immigration law.

"This is not in the script ... (but) this law makes no sense," Martin said from the stage. "You are not alone. We are with you. Put a stop to discrimination. Put a stop to hate. Put a stop to racism."

Well, you heard the man.

Immigration Equality issued a statement earlier this week condemning Arizona's bill, noting that for LGBT people, the law could have disastrous consequences.

"The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community knows all too well how easily people who 'look different' can be singled out for harassment and prosecution," the group wrote. "The state’s new law threatens to tear apart families, separate children from their parents and rip apart loving couples who are building their lives together. Forty percent of LGBT binational couples in the United States include a Latino family member. For them, and their loved ones, Arizona is now the most dangerous place in America."

Arizona: The Most Dangerous Place in America. Think that'll make a good tagline for Arizona license plates?

Meanwhile, kudos to Martin for using his first public appearance, when the world's eyes were on him, to blast this immigration bill. Yes, it's just a celebrity speaking. But this is a soapbox we're glad to hold up.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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