Weekly Political Roundup

• President Obama named 16 recipients for this year’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. They include tennis and women’s rights legend Billie Jean King and LGBT-rights pioneer Harvey Milk, and very many other worthy people. I’m a bit disappointed not to see Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon on the list, but maybe next year.
• Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said he will introduce federal legislation to repeal DOMA and recognize legal marriages of same-sex couples, but not civil unions or domestic partnerships. He explained “Historically domestic partnerships and other relationships have been an interregnum until we get to marriage, which we need to push for as soon as possible.” He has a point—going this route will underscore that CU’s and DP’s are not equal to marriage, and I think that will help the folks pushing for full marriage equality in New Jersey and elsewhere.
• Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) withdrew an amendment to a Department of Defense Appropriations bill that would have prohibited the use of funds in the bill to investigate or discharge servicemembers under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. It is unclear whether the amendment would have had any real impact on a full repeal.
• A bill to grant spousal health benefits to domestic partners of federal employees cleared a House subcommittee. It must go through one more subcommittee before the full House. Read the rest of this post »

Marriage Recognized in D.C.? Act Now for Benefits

Here’s a little piece of advice for families living in Washington, D.C.: The city recently passed laws recognizing same-sex couples who were married or legally partnered in a “substantially similar” way outside the District. HRC warns people, though that if you are already hitched and want to cover your spouse or partner through your employer’s insurance plan, you may need to act quickly. Many employers’ plans require you to make changes to your enrollment within 30 days of when the laws went into effect. If you miss the deadline, you have to wait until the next open-enrollment period, which means  you may not be able to cover your spouse or partner this year.

The marriage recognition law went into effect July 6, 2009 July 7, 2009.  The partnership recognition law went into effect July 20, 2009 July 18, 2009. [Updated dates: The D.C. Insurance Dept initially posted the incorrect July 6 and July 20 dates. Thanks to Chris at HRC for the tip.]

If you are not yet hitched elsewhere, you will have 30 days from your happy date to make the changes.

“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 77

Helen and I use the arrival of Cat Cora’s fourth child to talk about creating our own, using a similar egg donation process (though without the simultaneous pregnancies of Cat and her partner Jennifer). We also use a passing comment about two moms and two mortgages on Nurse Jackie to discuss saving for a child’s education.

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

Brought to you in partnership with After Ellen.

In Memoriam: Phyllis J. Fleming

Phyllis J. Fleming, who died last month at the age of 84, was a pioneering physics professor. She received her doctorate in 1955, when such degrees in any field, much less the hard sciences, were rare for women. She spent 50 years of her life teaching at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. While I did not have the pleasure of having a class with her, I did run into her from time to time when I was taking physics classes as part of my astronomy degree. One of her more famous students, however, is another astronomy alumna, Pamela Melroy, Col. USAF (Retired), who commanded a Space Shuttle mission in 2007.

Why am I mentioning her here, aside from my vague connection through the college? Fleming is survived by her partner Linda B. Miller, which means she is not only a hero for women in science, but a lesbian foremother as well.

The Boston Globe has a long obituary about her extraordinary teaching abilities, the many programs she instituted to expand opportunities for students and alumnae, and the many students and faculty whom she inspired. The College is holding a memorial service for her in September; if you are an alumna, contact the College for details. (Or drop me an e-mail, and I’ll forward the message I just received about it.)

My condolences to Miller and to the rest of Fleming’s family, friends, and students.

(Photo: Wellesley College Science Center, where Fleming served as director.)

Love (Kisses) and Basketball

Ever watch an NBA game? In many arenas, there’s a “KissCam” that puts images of couples in the audience on the overhead Jumbotron screen, so the rest of the audience can encourage them to kiss. It’s silly but harmless.

Go to a WNBA Washington Mystic’s game, however, and you won’t find a KissCam, even though the NBA’s Washington Wizards use one. Why? According to Sheila Johnson, the Mystics’ managing partner, “We got a lot of kids here. We just don’t find it appropriate.”

The Washington Post’s sports columnist Mike Wise, however, explores the notion that fear of spotlighting the team’s many lesbian fans drove the decision: Read the rest of this post »

Now that Marriage Sucks, Can We Have It?

My friend Prof. Moss at The Two Body Solution, a blog about gender and popular culture, raises an interesting question: Now that politicians’ affairs have cheapened marriage and various mainstream media channels have effectively declared American marriage dead, are people more willing to open it up to same-sex couples? “Just like the country had to be in the worst economic shape since the Great Depression before we’d let a black man run it,” she opines, “marriage has be perceived as failed and worthless before we’ll share it with gays.”

Another interpretation, of course, is that we think only a black man has what it takes to get us out of this mess, and maybe opening marriage to same-sex couples will similarly save a failing institution. Many of us have managed to stay together despite our lack of rights and recognition, so perhaps we know a thing or two about making relationships work.

I’m not sure which scenario I’d bet on right now. There are also many other reasons people voted for Obama, and many reasons they support marriage equality. Prof. Moss raises a good question, though, and one worth pondering.

Go leave a comment over at Two Body Solution if you have any thoughts on the matter. (It’s a new blog, and I’m sure she and her co-publisher husband would appreciate the traffic. While you’re there, read her rant on Swiffer.)

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I hope this helps us continue our ongoing conversations about LGBT parenting.

Many thanks for being part of the Mombian community,
Dana

Not Quite Heaven, West Virginia

In early June, the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Kathryn Kutil and Cheryl Hess, a lesbian couple who have been fostering an 18-month-old girl since shortly after she was born, can maintain custody and not turn the child over to an opposite-sex couple for adoption, as ordered by a lower court. Here’s my post about the ruling.

The New York Times Magazine published a long article this week on the case and the couple’s long battle with the foster care system. Hess and Kutil have fostered 18 kids between the ages of 1 and 16 in the past two years, all of whom had suffered abuse or neglect. One was adopted by Kutil. (The article says they couldn’t adopt jointly; my understanding is that it is unclear whether West Virginia would allow them to do so, but it might be more of a struggle in any case.)

Note that the state Supreme Court ruling was not the same as granting an adoption. The Court just said the women could not be denied the right to apply for one simply on the basis of being a same-sex couple. Kutil and Hess are now going through the usual adoption process, “which will require the approval of Health and Human Services and confirmation by a county judge,” the NYT notes.

The paper also quotes Hess as saying, “Every day, you wake up and have this perfect baby, and you’re like this normal family. Yet you sit and wait for somebody else to decide if you get to keep her. You’re at the mercy of other people deciding your life.”

Best of luck to them. It shouldn’t take so long to give a child a good home.