Weekend Voting Reminder

A friendly weekend reminder to keep voting for Mombian as Best Large Blog in the 2008 Weblog Awards. You can (and should!) vote once every 24 hours through January 13, since results are cumulative. (That means in two more days I’ll stop posting these annoying reminders.)

Right now, I’m far from first—but I’m not last, either, and I’d like it to stay that way. With a big rally (and it would have to be big), I might even move up a spot.

After the jump are some of my picks in other categories. Read the rest of this post »

Weekly Political Roundup

See also my LGBT Parenting Roundup for news specifically related to kids and parenting.

• Brian Bond, a political veteran who has headed the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and held several positions at the Democratic National Committee, will be named by President-elect Barack Obama as deputy director of the Office of Public Liaison.
• President-elect Barack Obama will also name openly gay Fred Hochberg to chair the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the country’s official export credit agency.
• Professor Lisa Hazirjian of Case Western Reserve University is among 16 people selected to join President-elect Barack Obama on his Whistle-Stop tour to the Inauguration. She was selected for her volunteer work with the LGBT community in Cleveland. Read the rest of this post »

Gay Marriage Propaganda Film

This is going to make the blogospheric rounds, I’m sure, but I can’t help a repost:

(Thanks to 23/6, via Andy Towle, via Good As You.)

Mary Bonauto Gets Raw and Real About Marriage Equality

Mary Bonauto, lead counsel in the Massachusetts case that won same-sex couples the right to wed, spoke in November at a WBUR Kennedy Library Forum about marriage equality. When asked about the potential impact of the demonstrations that have sprung up since the election, she said:

Demonstrations are important. They make people feel good also, and involved, and connected with the issues. But I will say this: I think the most important thing that anybody can do is to find those people who are conflicted about this issue, who don’t want to discriminate but really don’t like the idea of extending marriage to same-sex couples, and to have a one-on-one, heart-to-heart conversation with them, repeatedly. That is what changes minds, and not demonstrations. So if I had any recommendation for everyone who cares about this issue, it’s to get raw, real, and vulnerable with people where it’s outside of your comfort zone to do so. And that’s what’s going to make a lasting difference.

Bonauto’s fellow panelists were Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe, one of the preeminent constitutional law experts in the U.S., who wrote the amicus curiae brief for the ACLU in Lawrence v. Texas, and taught some community organizer from Illinois named Barack Obama; and State Senator Marian Walsh, assistant majority leader, a devout Catholic representing one of the most conservative Catholic districts in the state, who has nevertheless voted and spoken out in support of marriage equality, even in the face of reelection pressure.

The full Forum is now online, and well worth a listen, even though it’s over an hour. You can stream it as a RealMedia file or download it as an mp3 (suitable for iPods and the like). There’s no direct link, but you can easily find it if you scroll down the page.

It’s a fascinating look back at the Massachusetts decision as well as a look forward at marriage equality post-Prop 8, by some of those in the best position to offer thoughtful opinions.

(And don’t forget to vote for Mombian as Best Large Blog in the 2008 Weblog Awards. Even if you voted already, please do so again. You can cast a vote once every 24 hours, and they all count. Many thanks!)

“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 54

Helen and I take a post-holiday look at some of our favorite presents of the year, including a new obsession for all the board- and card-game geeks out there (adults and kids), as well as some items for the younger tots. We also thank readers for your more serious parenting questions, and promise to address them in a future vlog. Holidays with a small child precluded giving them the thought they deserve. Please stay tuned!

Watch Mombian: She Got Me Pregnant, 01-08-09 in Family Videos  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

(If the Veoh video above doesn’t work for you, try it at Dailymotion.)

Brought to you in partnership with After Ellen.

Treating Families as Allies, Not Enemies

365gay.com has just posted a long piece of mine on new research about how parents’ reactions to their LGBT children can have long-term effects on their children’s health and well being. Seems obvious—and you may even have seen the news a few days ago when the first paper on this work came out. I’ve gone into more background on the research, though, showing why its approach is so different, and putting it into the context of the much larger Family Acceptance Project of which it is part. The larger project, and its implications for developing family-centered support and resources for LGBT youth, is really what makes this groundbreaking.

There’s a companion piece with more on the lead researcher, Dr. Caitlin Ryan.

Steve Ralls, communications director for PFLAG, has a piece up on HuffPo about the research findings as well, linking them to the book Prayers for Bobby, the true story of a mother who rejected her gay son and lost him to suicide. Lifetime will be bringing the tale to television on January 24th.

(Don’t forget to vote for Mombian as Best Large Blog in the 2008 Weblog Awards. Vote every day through January 13. Thanks!)

LGBT Parenting Roundup

Time for another collection of recent news about LGBT parents. First, though, make sure you’ve voted for Mombian as Best Large Blog in the 2008 Weblog Awards. Even if you voted yesterday, please do so again. You can cast a vote once every 24 hours, and they all count. Many thanks!

• If you’re married, civil unioned, or domestic partnered, and both of you are on your child’s birth certificate, you should read Nancy Polikoff’s post, “Why Lawyers Recommend Second-Parent Adoptions (even if you’re married).” This is something I’ve said many times before, but Nancy’s a lawyer, and she says it better.
• Joan Garry, former Executive Director of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and Co-Chair of the National LGBT Finance Committee for Obama For America, wrote “What is it like to be a gay parent?” for the New Jersey Star Ledger. Then she wrote a piece at HuffPo, “What People Really Think About Gay Parents,” in response to the bigoted feedback she got on her first piece. Both worth a read.
• The Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of more than a dozen families, challenging the new Arkansas law banning unmarried couples from becoming foster or adoptive parents.
• The New York Times published an editorial inveighing against the Arkansas law. Nancy Polikoff points out that the paper has supported our families for many years.
• The Fort Myers News-Press has a sympathetic piece on the state of Florida’s appeal of a lower court ruling that allowed a gay man to adopt.
• As of January 1, it is illegal for adoption agencies in England, Wales and Scotland to discriminate against same-sex couples.

Working Mother L-Moms Breakfast in New York

I’ve been graciously invited by Working Mother magazine to give the keynote speech at their first-ever L-Moms & Allies Breakfast on January 21 in New York City. If you live in the greater New York City area, you are more than welcome to attend. I’d love to meet you there.

The only catch is that the event is aimed at employees of large corporations, law firms, etc., and there is a $150 admission fee. If you work at a big firm and have an LGBT employee group or a diversity committee, see if they’ll sponsor you. You can attend as an individual, too, but you’ll have to pay the fee yourself.

Working Mother, if you don’t know them, puts out an oft-cited yearly list of Best Companies for moms, and has been a strong leader in diversity. I’m very pleased they are reaching out to our community.

I’ll be speaking about ways that companies who are already broadly supportive of LGBT rights can take the next step in support of their LGBT employees, in particular, lesbian moms and bisexual women parenting with another woman. If you have any thoughts about the topic, please leave a comment.

More details and registration info are on the event Web site. Here’s the official event description: Read the rest of this post »