The International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA), part of a larger law from 2005 that cracks down on violence against women, was challenged on First Amendment grounds by European Connections, an internet dating company. European Connections is also known as russianladies.com. The judge's ruling reportedly triggered a massive depressive slump in Slavic countries throughout Europe.
Sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) and presidential candidate Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), IMBRA seeks to protect foreign women who marry American men and are then abused. The law requires a marriage broker to perform a sex registry and criminal background search on American clients before allowing lovesick Romeos to reach out to their online princesses. The search covers nasty things like convictions for sex abuse, pedophilia and pimping. Maybe you were a slaver in your former job? No joy for you. All the dirt collected must then be turned over to the bride-to-be.
But the law goes well beyond looking into whether you spend too much time lurking outside playgrounds or putting, ahem, escorts on the track. Here is some of the other information required:
- Any Federal, State, or local arrest or conviction of the United States client for offenses related to controlled substances or alcohol.
- Marital history of the United States client, including whether the client is currently married, whether the client has previously been married and how many times, how previous marriages of the client were terminated and the date of termination, and whether the client has previously sponsored an alien to whom the client was engaged or married.
- The ages of any of the United States client's children who are under the age of 18.
- All States and countries in which the United States client has resided since the client was 18 years of age
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