Last LGBT Parenting Roundup of the Year
I’m still in “light posting over the holidays” mode here, but for those of you still out there and reading, here’s a quick roundup of LGBT parenting news to hold you for a few days:
- President Bush—yes, that’s right—signed the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA), making it mandatory for businesses to roll over retirement benefits to a same-sex partner in the event of the employee’s death. This means same-sex couples, just like opposite-sex married couples, will automatically avoid tax penalties on those benefits. (My suspicion? Bush isn’t bothering to read anything that crosses his desk these days. Still, we’ll take it. This could have a significant impact on some couples’ financial security.)
- Could Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s appointment of ultra-conservatives to the state’s Commission on Marriage and Family mean an attempt to ban adoption by same-sex couples in the state? Appointees include Tony Perkins, who heads the Family Research Council, clergy from conservative Christian denominations, and the law professor who wrote the state’s “covenant marriage” law. I wonder how last week’s U.S. District Court ruling that the Louisiana state registrar must honor the New York adoption of a baby boy by a same-sex couple will affect matters. Read the rest of this post »

6:08 am
Campbell Soup is the latest company to realize the value of marketing to the $650 billion LGBT market—and specifically, to lesbian moms. They have run a two-page spread for Swanson’s broth in the Advocate, featuring two lesbian moms and their young son. The women, Lea Forant and Carolyn Montgomory, are owners of Café Forant in Manhattan, and apparently use Campbell’s Swanson chicken broth in preparing many of their Christmas Eve dishes.
Who were the LGBT parents who made headlines this year in mainstream or LGBT news? Here are my top individuals or couples, in alphabetic (not rank) order. (This started as a top-ten list, but outgrew that appellation by a bit. Consider it a holiday bonus.)
A very happy Kwanzaa to those of you celebrating it today. I am not one of them, but I love how Kwanzaa shows that we can honor our heritage in new ways, with traditions rooted in the past but developed in the present. (Kwanzaa was founded in 1966, which to me counts as present in terms of major holidays.) I love the way it draws from multiple African cultures regardless of religious faith and celebrates the diversity within a common identity. Lots of lessons there for all people.
. . . had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.






Mombian YouTube Channel: Positive videos of LGBT families





