BY STEFAN JOHNSON

This summer vacation season is bound to be long and hot, and not in a good way: travelers will undoubtedly have many things on their mind, from the exorbitant price of gas to overbooked, overcrowded planes. But the LGBT community faces additional hurdles to a comfortable and relaxing vacation not faced by our straight friends and neighbors: the stress of choosing a safe destination and avoiding places known to be hostile to the LGBT community. Even the joy of a summer wedding abroad may be tempered by the fact that upon your return home, our government is likely to remind you of your lack of equal status. It starts at customs, where the federal government requires each same-sex partner to submit separate customs declarations, rather than submitting joint declarations as do heterosexual married couples.

Lambda Legal represents Janice Langbehn in a case that illustrates the problems that traveling LGBT couples may face. While on vacation in Florida, Janice's healthy, 39-year-old partner of nearly 18 years, Lisa Pond, suddenly collapsed and was later pronounced dead from a brain aneurysm. She was rushed to a nearby hospital with Janice and their three children close behind. The hospital refused to accept information from Janice about Lisa's medical history, and informed Janice that she was in an anti-gay city and state and could expect to receive no information about Lisa's condition or other acknowledgment as family. Other than one five minute visit, arranged by a Catholic priest at Janice's request to perform last rites, and despite the doctor's acknowledgement that no medical reason existed to prevent visitation, neither Janice nor her children were allowed to see Lisa until nearly eight hours after their arrival.

Lesbian and gay couples traveling abroad with their children should be aware that they may encounter hostile immigration officials questioning how two adults of the same sex can be legal parents of their children. Children may not be allowed to leave or to re-enter the country until formal proof of legal connections between parents and children is established.

To guard against some of these potential problems, same-sex couples should make sure they have basic legal protections in place such as powers of attorney, wills, and advance directives (also called “health care proxies” or powers of attorney for medical decision-making)—and take your documentation with you! Additionally, you should take copies of any adoption decrees and/or birth certificates for your children. If disaster strikes, your legal paperwork will protect you far better than your sunscreen!

For more information about our new legal safety scale for same-sex couples, and our new toolkit “Take the Power: Tools for Life and Financial Planning,” visit our Web site www.lambdalegal.org

For assistance in finding an attorney to help you protect yourself while on vacation or for any unforeseen event that might occur, please contact Lambda Legal's Help Desk at 866/542-8336.