Archives › 2007 › June
Add LGBT Voices to New Parenting Encyclopedia Babblepedia
Parenting megasite Babble has just launched Babblepedia, a Wikipedia-like “Encyclopedia of Parenting Knowledge” that “anyone can edit.” It’s a great idea, though the usual cautions apply about doing your own thorough research before believing anything you read online. Here’s the action item: Go contribute to Babblepedia to make sure LGBT families are well represented. Many [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
The big news of the week is the resounding victory for marriage equality in Massachusetts. Legislators voted 45 to 151 against sending a proposed amendment banning same-sex marriage to voters in November. This kills the matter until, at a very minimum, 2012; given Democratic Governor Deval Patrick’s support for LGBT rights and general sentiment in [...]
Massachusetts Constitutional Convention: We Won!
The legislators of Massachusetts did the right thing. Final vote was 45 in favor of sending a same-sex marriage ban to the voters; 151 against. Congratulations to all those who fought for this and supported the cause of equality. Now I need to call my spouse at work and tell her the news.
Live from Boston: The Fight for Marriage Equality
For those of you interested in following today’s crucial same-sex marriage vote at the Constitutional Convention in Massachusetts: Bay Windows is live blogging the proceedings The Massachusetts House of Representatives Web site will provide a live Web cast starting at 1:00 Blue Mass Group is also posting updates throughout the day
Book Review: The Brides of March
(Originally published on Bay Windows, June 14, 2007. Read an excerpt from the book in my post from yesterday.) When the Goodridge decision first made same-sex marriage a reality in Massachusetts, it sparked a string of jurisdictions around the country to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Beren DeMotier’s The Brides of March: Memoir [...]
Opus Cartoon about Lesbian Moms Stirs Writers’ Wrath
This cartoon, published Sunday by Berkeley Breathed in the Washington Post and elsewhere, shows two boys discussing a third, who has two moms. After one says it’s “cool,” the other says “Makes you wonder how he’ll do without a male role model in the house.” At this moment, a television comes flying out the window [...]
Recall of Thomas Trains
This news struck fear into my heart at the thought of having to take away some of my son’s favorite toys: The manufacturer of the popular Thomas & Friends wooden trains is recalling a number of models because of a high level of lead in the surface paint. It recommends you take the trains away [...]
Only 24 More Hours for Marriage Equality in Massachusetts?
Tomorrow, Massachusetts lesgislators will meet in a Constitutional Convention to determine whether to send the issue of same-sex marriage to voters this November. If voters decide against it, then same-sex marriage in Massachusetts will be no more. No, marriage equality won’t officially end tomorrow in either case, but if it goes to the ballot, its [...]
Book Excerpt: The Brides of March
Beren DeMotier’s The Brides of March: Memoir of a Same-Sex Marriage is a raucous, personal, touching look at the brief legalization of same-sex marriage in Multnomah County, Oregon in March 2004, and its impact on her and her family. She also writes with knowing humor about the ins and outs of lesbian motherhood. I have [...]
Family Voices II
With Father’s Day coming up this weekend, it’s appropriate that this week’s Family Voices interview is with gay dad Jeff, who lives in New York City with his partner John and their son Marcus. He talks of adopting from Cambodia, being active in his son’s school, incorporating multiple religious traditions into their lives, and more. [...]
Honoring Loving v. Virginia
Today marks the 40th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the historic U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down the remaining interracial marriage bans in 16 states in the U.S. I needn’t belabor the parallel between the struggle to end interracial-marriage bans and our current fight to legalize same-sex marriage—most readers here know it all too [...]
As a someone who turns a disturbing shade of Barbie pink when left in the sun too long, I read with interest of new evidence that “overall sun exposure in childhood, not just burns, is a big key to who later develops deadly skin cancer.” The study, at the University of North Carolina, indicated that [...]
The Point Foundation, the nation’s largest publicly-supported scholarship organization for LGBT students, last week announced its Point Scholars for 2007. Point Scholars receive financial support, leadership training, and mentoring from the Foundation after undergoing a rigorous selection process—in 2006, only 1% of applicants were chosen. The Foundation “[pays] particular attention to those students who have [...]
Weekend Reading on Kids Raised by Gay Parents
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran a story today asking What Happens to Kids Raised by Gay Parents? It’s notable for profiling one child who is straight and one who is gay. This is a rare look at “second-generation” LGBT individuals and a needed recognition that while LGBT parents won’t necessarily have LGBT children, statistically, some of [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
LGBT-rights groups are opposing President Bush’s nomination of Dr. James Holsinger of Kentucky to the post of Surgeon General. Soulforce reports that the church Holsinger co-founded operates an “ex-gay” ministry. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force adds that he authored a 1991 paper titled “Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality,” which equates homosexuality with disease. Legislation [...]
Lesbian Bed Death Saves Civilization
James C. Dobson, founder and chairman of the ultra-conservative group Focus on the Family, broadcast and endorsed a sermon on his radio show in which the speaker asserted: “You know a society has been abandoned by God when it celebrates lesbian sex.” He then claimed that as a result of this abandonment, a major U.S. [...]
Blogging for LGBT Families Day: Non-Bio Moms
Continuing the highlights from Blogging for LGBT Families Day, here are some posts about being a non-bio mom. (Other non-bio moms contributed posts, but didn’t write about being a non-bio mom this time, so I’m including them elsewhere.) I urge you to read the full posts of which these extracts offer a mere taste.
Act with BlogHer
If you could work with other bloggers to make a difference in one global cause over the next year, what would it be? What issues must a U.S. presidential candidate address in order to have any chance of winning your vote in 2008? The editors of BlogHer are asking women online to answer these questions. [...]
Kathy Belge, publisher of the always interesting, wide-ranging Lesbian Life blog, has named Mombian to the number-two spot on her Top 10 Best Lesbian Blogs list. The other nine are fabulous blogs all, and I’m honored to be in such company. I urge you to check them out (along with Lesbian Life itself, if you [...]
Kids’ Toys from the Hardware Store: Musical Pipes
Lots of people seemed to like the PVC Pipe Construction Set I wrote about a few months ago, including Parent Hacks, GeekDad, and the FemiKnitMafia (whose son got one from us as a present). My partner, ever the engineer, thus set out to build another PVC creation, a musical pipe set inspired by those of [...]
One of the great joys for me in this year’s Blogging for LGBT Families Day was that there was an increase in the number of posts by those who grew up in LGBT families. Many thanks to COLAGE for helping to spread the word about the event among their members. In my experience, LGBT parents [...]
Family Voices: First in a Series
This post is the first in a series I will run on Tuesdays through the summer, profiling LGBT families from the Family Pride Coalition’s OUTSpoken Families program. These families have committed to speak to their local communities and media about their lives and the need for LGBT equality. They have undergone extensive training through Family [...]
Blogging for LGBT Families Day: Varied Perspectives
I want to start my roundup of Blogging for LGBT Families Day posts by sharing a few perspectives that really made me think about the variety of our experiences. Clare at An MSW in Cambodia tells us the story of Karen Atala, a Chilean parent whose children were taken away by the court because she [...]
I spent almost the entire weekend reading through the more than 140 posts contributed to this year’s Blogging for LGBT Families Day. (Yes, my own family will be glad to have me back when this is over.) Once again I am overwhelmed with the diversity, strength, and love of LGBT families and our allies. Thanks [...]
Blogging for LGBT Families Day: Still Accepting Posts
Did you wake up this morning and suddenly realize you had forgotten Blogging for LGBT Families Day yesterday? Was your child sick or did he or she require an emergency batch of cupcakes at school for an end-of-year party? Never fear—I’m still accepting contributions through today. Call it a concession to “Parent Standard Time” (though [...]
