Posted on 02/14/2006 6:12:25 AM PST by GermanBusiness
The Violence Against Women Act signed by President Bush on Jan. 5 contains an almost unnoticed attachment.
Subtitle D, also known as the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 (IMBA), will become law when VAWA is enacted. The IMBA is an ostensibly noble measure with a surprising and ominous twist.
The scant attention directed toward the IMBA has been positive.
A headline in Washington State's The Daily Herald announced, "Mail-order brides gain protection" with the subtitle "The mother of a murdered immigrant hopes that pending federal legislation will keep foreign brides from abuse, neglect and slavery."
The "murdered immigrant" refers to Anastasia King, a "mail-order bride" from the former Soviet Union. In 2000, King was murdered by her husband in Washington State where the case created a sensation largely because the husband had violently assaulted a previous "mail-order bride."
Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who championed the measure for years, introduced the IMBA to Congress.
Some parts sound reasonable. For example, U.S. consulates will provide "mail-order brides" with brochures that explain their legal rights.
Other parts sound draconian. For example, the IMBA requires American men who wish to correspond with foreign women through private for-profit matchmaking agencies to first provide those businesses with their police records and other personal information to be turned over to the women.
Corresponding with a foreigner is legal. Marrying a foreigner is legal. Immigrating spouses and their husbands go through rigorous and lengthy screening before visas are issued. U.S. laws against violence protect "mail-order brides."
Now American men who wish to pursue a legal activity must release their government files to a foreign business and foreign individuals for their personal benefit.
(Note: The act's language is gender-neutral but its clear purpose is to protect foreign women from predatory American men. Application to "male-order husbands" would be incidental as such 'brides' are relatively rare.)
The disclosure requirement is detailed under the provision entitled "Obligations of International Marriage Broker With Respect to Mandatory Collection of Information."
An international broker cannot provide contact or general information on a foreign woman to an American man unless that broker first collects and discloses to the woman the following information about the man:
Every state of residence since the age of 18; Current or previous marriages as well as how and when they terminated; Information on children under 18; Any arrest or conviction related to controlled substances, alcohol or prostitution, making no distinction on arrests not leading to conviction; Any court orders, including temporary restraining orders, which are notoriously easy to procure; Any arrest or conviction for crimes ranging from "homicide" to "child neglect"; Any arrest or conviction for "similar activity in violation of Federal, State or local criminal law" without specifying what "similar" means. U.S. law will provide foreign women with extensive government information on American suitors that is not similarly offered to American women — which it shouldn't it be either.
Contacting a woman for romantic purposes — internationally or domestically — is not a crime. Those who do so are not a priori criminals who must prove themselves innocent before being allowed an e-mail exchange.
How many American men will be impacted by the IMBA?
She was apparently never attracted to him, except he initially gave himself off as a professor type which is a turn-on in the Russian world (women there love intellectuals). However, the guy couldn't keep a job at Costco and wasn't really an intellectual.
(I think Law and Order has hit up this also)
Why should men with questionable backgrounds, and convictions for sexual crimes be able to hide their pasts and lie in order to seduce women to come to America?
What is Draconian about this?!?
Where is there a right to lie so as to seduce someone?
You have a right to say hello. You can pick up the phone dial 011 7 XXXX XXXXXX and talk to any Russian woman you want.
If however you do balls to do that, and are going to ask an international intermediary agency to do it for you, you can be asked to prove that you're intentions are not malicious.
[Why should men with questionable backgrounds, and convictions for sexual crimes be able to hide their pasts and lie in order to seduce women to come to America?]
First of all, this Mommy-state legislation (which will get overturned quickly) will NOT stop the predators from simply lying along with everyone else who will refuse to tell complete strangers (who are sometimes men pretending to be women) personal details.
As well, this legislation must logically extend toward American men meeting American women. Foreign women are not children, but this law is like Megan's Law in that regard: it is saying that foreign women are like children (with the bizarre and mentally sick argument that foreign women don't know how evil American men can be and need to be protected from them).
The form stuff will all be done on the honor system. A man will not have to put his date of birth or other identifying information that could be used by foreign scammers posing as women. The real hassle lies in the 48 hours to 6 weeks if ever that it takes the agency to contact the alleged "woman" about a form that says next to nothing (just a bunch of no's that each man will write about any criminal record - where 99% of the men are being truthful but the 1% who do have criminal records will be right there among them saying no) and get a response back from her that she received the form.
The law does not say that the woman has to agree to be introduced to the man. She just has to confirm that she got the form. The form, apparently, has to be in the language of the woman...meaning an agency supposedly needs to have the resources to translate things into 80 languages.
Gone would be the important days when an American man could just show up on a Saturday afternoon to be welcomed by a Russian or East European family who have always had a tradition of male suitors just showing up to meet their daughters who mostly live with Mom and Dad until they reach their 30s. In paranoid America, this must sound like anathema...but that is a good indication of why America isn't the best of places to look for a wife.
But now this is being legislated...by the feminists. It is bizarre and unconstitutional. As you have seen by the reaction of most males to this thread, this type of legislation can become a major swing issue in American elections.
You have to understand: Senator Maria Cantwell has vowed to put Internet dating sites out of business. At least she wants the ones out of business who do more than 50% of their business introducing foreign women to American men. There is hatred toward men who would bypass American feminists as marriage partners and severe hatred toward men who would date and marry with a big age difference.
So, besides knowing the intent of Maria Cantwell and the feminist following that got this bill pushed through a REPUBLICAN Congress, holding up my life for 48 hours to 6 weeks is a major hassle in and of itself. It is the biggest direct imposition to my personal life that I've seen the feminists do via laws (they have already convinced the average young American women to mistrust American men and not support the troops-that is a fact).
I am a Canadian as well as American, so I can just bypass the stupid forms.
But why are American men second class now in comparison to me and the German guys around me right now? Why do Canadian and German males now have more rights to simply logon to the Internet and talk to a woman who is not from their country?
Can't you see how this will be overturned quickly?
[Where is there a right to lie so as to seduce someone?]
Tell me now: Are you saying that the US Government has a right to legislate this?
Foreign women who do not speak English cannot walk down to the town building and lookup the land deed to discover a guy lives in a trailer not a mansion as he says. They cannot look up how much alimony or child support he pays, nor even be sure he is single and free to marry. They cannot look up whether he's a former sex offender.
This legislation is to give them the ability to know such things. Further the American man has the government checking all this out for him abou the women. fair is fair.
With regard to foreign nationals interested in immigration? Absolutly.
[and are going to ask an international intermediary agency to do it for you, you can be asked to prove that you're intentions are not malicious.]
A good agency should screen its clients and the best do run a quick check on the sexual offenders database.
But you cannot legislate this. Are you saying that you can? And if so, why not for American men on American dating sites as well?
You clearly have no idea the fury you would be engendering in the majority of single males by saying yes to this.
The "law" wouldn't be so bad if the agencies were just supposed to get the males to fill out the voluntary, honor-system form. But the unnecessary and wasteful sending of forms that have no information to women who often have no email address...will destroy the industry...which is what the INTENT of the law was.
You have to understand the intent of Democrat Senator Maria Cantwell. She HATES the idea of American men marrying foreign women and really hates the idea of age differences. This is the feminist agenda slapping laws down on males so the males live within the confines that the feminists demand. You have to understand just how wrong that is. American males didn't give women the vote in order to have the women take their basic rights as males away.
This law got snuck past single males during the Christmas Holiday Season. We got blind-sided by this. Bush is not up for reeleection. Democrat Maria Cantwell is up for reelection. But the courts are what we can hope for now, thank God for the courts. In a two party system, it would be impossible for anyone to fight for rights in the middle of a war otherwise.
[Foreign women who do not speak English cannot walk down to the town building and lookup the land deed to discover a guy lives in a trailer not a mansion as he says. They cannot look up how much alimony or child support he pays, nor even be sure he is single and free to marry.]
To say a frigging hello, none of the above is any of their business and certainly none of YOUR damned business.
As I said, good agencies already run their clients quickly through the sexual offender database.
[With regard to foreign nationals interested in immigration? Absolutly.]
It sounds like you misunderstand the issue.
When a woman applies for a visa to enter the USA, the US embassies will run a complete check on the man she wants to marry or be with under the outrageous fiance visa program (there is no chance for a woman from countries like Russia to just visit her boyfriend in the USA) and give her tons of info...when they are not being horribly rude to her and treating her like a prostitute which is what our outrageous left wing State Dept employees do to the most attractive foreign women who want to marry American businessmen.
The new unconstitutional law that will be broken and immediately sent to the courts...is about the man going through a useless hassle and sending private information to a complete stranger who could be man...just to be able to say hello in the first place.
This is feminism run amok and, if you are female and conservative, you need to finally understand what feminism is all about (control of men) and do something about it or not call yourself conservative.
[Further the American man has the government checking all this out for him abou the women. fair is fair.]
This shows me that you are thinking about the actual immigration procedures and not the initial "hello, my name is Jim"...which cannot and must not be regulated of course...
...but bizarrely now is.
Congress completely misunderstands the Internet.
Firstly the law only applies to agencies run in America.
Two yes I think it can be legislated and apparently has been. American dating sites do not require immigration or visas. Still they do come under interstate commerce and are fully regulatable by the federal government and should be regulated.
Only 5% of K-1 Visa holders remain in the united states after 1 year. That's enough to know that there's an abundance of uninformed women entering this country under false pretenses, and pretences which could be used to cover terrorism.
It is fair, and useful for foreign women to know that a man acting under the pretense of marrying her is who he says he is, is not currently married, and is not currently paying for several children and marriges gone wrong.
I have no sympathy for fat bald 50+ year olds who've failed at 5 marriages, been convicted of sex crimes, and decide to seduce a foreigner into being their sex toy in their trailer. I have less still for folks like that who are hiding that fact from the person they intend to marry.
When you're out at the laudramat 'hello' means hello.
When you walk into a business called 'Marriage for you' and say hello you're saying 'Hello, I'm interested in marrying you'. That's a lot different.
What is an agency? What is their purpose? Are they facilitating 'hello'? Hardly. They are facilitating marriage and most reputable ones will kick out girls NOT interested in marriage.
If all you're interested to say is hello pick up the phone and dial a phone number like 011 7 xxxx xxxxxx. You can say hello all you like.
[I have no sympathy for fat bald 50+ year olds who've failed at 5 marriages]
This speaks volumes about your character and what type of feminist you are.
I can guarantee you that I will break this law. I will, as an agency, sell a woman's email address to an American after March 7th.
This law is going down and maybe males are going to have to wake up more to the existence of people like you.
You are the political enemy. You have no right to put your disgusting opinions about 50 year old men into laws like this. You have an acidic feminist agenda and we are not going to put up with it.
[What is an agency? What is their purpose? Are they facilitating 'hello'?]
That is precisely what they are doing. Period.
The marriage marketing part is just playing on dreams that everyone has. It helps in after-market sales of things like visa services, etc.
But, initially, all they are really doing is facilitating hello.
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