Archives › 2007 › September
And the Banned Played On
Today marks the start of Banned Books Week, a celebration of the freedom to read. This week, LGBT families have a particular reason to observe the event. Children’s storybook And Tango Makes Three, based on a true story about two male penguins who adopt an abandoned egg, tops the American Library Association’s list of “10 [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
The ongoing ENDA story dominates the LGBT headlines right now. To follow up on my earlier post: HRC has finally issued a statement. They say it is “devastating” that the bill no longer includes gender identity, but state “The decision has been made,” and claim that: House leadership and the bill’s sponsors very firmly believe [...]
The ENDA the Movement as We Know It?
It’s official. House Democratic leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and openly gay Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) are taking gender-identity protections out of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) because they fear it will not pass otherwise. This is reprehensible. There is a reason we use the unwieldy acronym L, G, [...]
Matthew Shepard Act Passes Senate
The Matthew Shepard Act, LGBT-inclusive hate crimes legislation, today passed the U.S. Senate. Judy and Dennis Shepard, parents of the slain college student for whom the bill is named, said “Today’s Senate vote sends a bold and unmistakable message that violent crimes committed in the name of hate must end.” The House version of the [...]
Bionic Mother
I watched the premiere of the remade Bionic Woman last night. I haven’t been getting my fill of kick-butt women on TV since Alias went off the air. It was fun in an escapist sort of way, and I will probably tune in again. Interestingly, the 2007 version of Jamie Sommers is also a parental [...]
Who Are Your LGBT Heroes?
October kicks off GLBT History Month, which is similar to GLBT Pride Month in June, but with fewer parades and more educational content.* Equality Forum, the coordinator of this intellectual celebration, has selected 31 GLBT “Icons” to feature during the month, one per day. It’s not meant to be an exclusive list, but rather to [...]
Senate to Vote on Hate-Crimes Bill Thursday
Tomorrow, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, vital legislation that includes explicit protections against hate crimes based on real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. The Matthew Shepard Foundation is urging people to call their Senators now (202-224-3121) and ask for him/her to the vote for [...]
Family Voices: Interlude
Over the past few months, I’ve been pleased to work with the Family Pride Coalition and their OUTSpoken Families program to bring you a series of Family Voices, interviews with LGBT parents around the country. For the next phase of Family Voices, I’m proud to join with COLAGE, Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere, to [...]
Nation’s Report Card Plays Well with Others
The yearly “Nation’s Report Card,” aka the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), came out today with news that supports both proponents and critics of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. 700,000 students in grades 4 and 8 took NAEP reading and math exams last winter, and the results provide a look at [...]
Family Voices IX
This week’s Family Voices interview is with lesbian moms—and grandmothers—Barbara and Patricia. Below, they talk about their multi-religious and multi-ethnic family, being mothers to a young child while also having grown children, coming out to older children, and their love of P-town. As with the previous families highlighted in this feature, they are members of [...]
Interview with Sherron Mills, Reproductive Pioneer, Part II
Yesterday, I ran the first part of an interview with Sherron Mills, founder and CEO of Pacific Reproductive Services. Here is Part II. I asked Mills what advice she would offer those considering parenthood. She first cautions, “There’s not enough knowledge out there in the general population about how soon fertility begins to decline in [...]
Working Mother vs. HRC
Last week, the Human Rights Campaign released its 2008 Corporate Equality Index, which rates major U.S. companies on their LGBT friendliness, based on inclusive benefits, anti-discrimination policies, marketing, and philanthropy. A record 195 businesses earned the top rating of 100 percent. I didn’t blog about it last week, however, because I saw Working Mother magazine [...]
Free Museum Admissions this Saturday
This Saturday, September 29, is Museum Day, when participating museums and cultural institutions across the U.S. will be offering free admission. (Special exhibits may not qualify.) Simply print a pass from the Smithsonian Web site.
Time for Action on Two Key Family Bills
Two bills expected to come before Congress this week could have a direct impact on many families across the U.S. The first, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), adds protections on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability to existing anti-discrimination laws. The House will likely vote this week. Openly gay Representative Barney Frank [...]
Interview with Sherron Mills, Reproductive Pioneer, Part I
Sherron Mills, founder and CEO of Pacific Reproductive Services (PRS) in California, is a trailblazer in helping lesbian couples and single mothers create their families. She’s been doing so for nearly a quarter century. Mills took a break from running PRS to speak with me about the past, present, and future of her work, and [...]
Son Speaks of Moms’ Civil Union in Ocean Grove
Jan Moore and Emily Sonnessa have been fighting the Methodist Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association in New Jersey for the right to have their civil union on an Association-owned pavilion in Ocean Grove. It’s not a clear-cut case of the Methodists having the right to do what they want with private property, because the church [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
Lots of news this week, some of which I covered in a roundup of parenting-related posts on Wednesday. Here’s more: The AFL-CIO and other unions are coming out in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which the U.S. House of Representatives should vote on within a week. Openly gay Representative Barney Frank predicts it [...]
Lesbian Moms More Satisfied with Partners than Straight Moms
A new study of families in the Netherlands indicates children raised by lesbian couples “do not differ in well being or child adjustment compared with their counterparts in heterosexual-parent families.” This is consistent with the findings of many American medical organizations. More interestingly, the study found: Lesbian biological mothers were significantly more satisfied with their [...]
Middle School Reality
Another guest post today by Sara Whitman of Suburban Lesbian Housewife. I talk a lot about toddlers and preschool-age children, because that’s where my personal experience is. Sara reminds us, however, that the challenges of parenting change, but don’t ease, as our children grow older. My son Ben came home today and told me he [...]
Book Recommendation: Kids Cook 1-2-3
At our local library the other day, I flipped through Kids Cook 1-2-3: Recipes for Young Chefs Using Only 3 Ingredients, but didn’t expect much. I assumed it told how to mix chocolate chips and raisins into a pre-made cake mix and the like. Instead, I was surprised to find recipes from fresh ingredients and [...]
Compassionate Piraticism – and Lesbian Pirates!
Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day. I’ve never understood the whole fascination with pirates, though. Here we are (most of us, anyway), trying to raise our children not to fight or steal, and yet we let them run around the house mimicking those whose main activities were fighting and stealing. My four-year-old has picked [...]
Juxtapositions of Parenthood
Same-sex parenting stories abound this week. Here are some highlights: A married lesbian couple has filed a human rights complaint against the province of Nova Scotia, Canada because it does not recognize both of them as parents to their child (born after the wedding) unless the non-biological mother adopts her. The American Civil Liberties Union [...]
Eight Family-Friendly Haulers, Part II
Yesterday, Joe Tralongo of Gaywheels.com offered the first half of a guest post on family-friendly and gay-friendly haulin’ vehicles. Not everyone wants the same thing in a car, as was clear from comments on the post, but I hope these reviews will give you some sense of what’s on offer if you are in search [...]
Will Children of Same-Sex Parents be Dotty for Dottie?
Today Show Will Cover Diversity Film Ban
Sources tell me the Today show tomorrow (Wednesday, September 19) on Thursday, September 20 will be covering the ongoing debate in the Evesham, New Jersey School District over whether to ban a diversity film that includes an LGBT family. I’ll confirm the coverage later (they usually post details on their blog the night before), but [...]
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