Are the Rights 5 the Right Stuff?

This isn’t parenting-specific, but my son is going through a superhero phase right now, so there’s a connection in my head:

Rights are only useful if people know you have them. That’s been one of my complaints about the plethora of terms for “two people in a mutually committed, legally recognized relationship.”

The GLBT Community Center of Colorado has launched a public education campaign to inform fellow citizens of the rights granted under state law to LGBT Coloradans. The campaign stars The Rights 5, “a league of superheroes banded together to illuminate those laws.”

The Rights 5 are: Enda Jobkeeping, The Enlightener; Nick Nondiscriminator, The Clarifier; Humberto Hate-Eraser, The Protector; Two-Pops Shakur, The Inspirer; and Desi B. Coupler, The Unifier. Their YouTube video tells you more:

What do you think of the Rights 5? Appealing? Effective? Too cutesy? Able to leap homophobia in a single bound?

(And on a related note, the out lesbian Batwoman is running for mayor of DC.)

Utah Court Says Non-Bio Mom Has No Rights to Her Child

A couple of months ago, I mentioned the case of Gena Edvalson and Jana Dickson, a former couple now involved in a custody and visitation dispute over the three-year-old son they created together through assisted insemination and raised together until their breakup in 2007. Dickson, the bio mom, is now married to a man and is represented by the conservative Alliance Defense Fund. While living together in Utah, she and Dickson had both signed a co-parenting agreement. At the time of my first post, it was unclear if the courts would uphold that as evidence of Edvalson’s parental status.

They didn’t.

The Utah Third Judicial District Court just ruled that Edvalson has no rights to the child and must lose even the weekly visitation that the judge had granted until the ruling. The court also stated that the contract “directly offends the state’s public policy that parents retain the fundamental right to exercise the primary control over the care and supervision of their children.”

It all boils down to how one answers the question: “Who is a parent?” Read the rest of this post »

Online Art for Kids

My family and I spent a few days in Washington, D.C. over the July 4 holiday, seeing the sights and taking full advantage of the city’s plethora of museums. More on our trip later. . . .

In the process of planning for it, however, I discovered some fun online games for kids at several of the museums’ Web sites. I’ll be highlighting a few of them here over the next week or so. (We also had a big week in politics, so stay tuned for that as well.) Read the rest of this post »

Double Pregnancy, Double the Fun?

Having one partner who is pregnant can be tough. Two partners who are pregnant at the same time could be even more daunting (though there is always the possibility of sharing maternity wear).

Erin Renzas of Cookie Magazine has taken a look at lesbian partners who have been pregnant at the same time, however. She rightly quotes Terry Boggis, director of family programs at New York City’s LGBT Center, who says this method is “definitely an exception, rather than a rule,” but her article is still an interesting look at one thing lesbian couples can do that other couples can’t—even if we don’t choose to do so very often.

I’ve covered a few such stories myself from time to time, most notably that of celebrity chef Cat Cora and her partner Jennifer. I also reviewed Discovery Health’s “Quads with Two Moms,” which profiled a lesbian couple who each gave birth to twins within a day of each other. (The show will reair July 16.)

Renzas also mentions the slightly more common method of one partner carrying the egg of the other, without both trying to get pregnant. This is in fact the same approach Helen and I used. (Here are the details on how we did so, in case you’re interested.)

There is always the risk of sensationalism when covering such rare ways of creating our families, but Renzas does a good job of avoiding it and giving readers a sense of the emotional and practical sides of lesbian couples trying to get pregnant.

My only quibble is that when she mentions the Massachusetts couple who used one partner’s egg that the other carried, it sounds as if that is the only method whereby both parents can go on the birth certificate. It’s not. In Massachusetts (and a few other states), both moms can go on the birth certificate even if one is biologically unrelated to the child. (Non-bio moms should still consider doing a second-parent adoption, however, as I’ve mentioned ad infinitum, so their parentage is more likely to be recognized in other states.)

Worth a read if only because it’s a nice mainstream article that avoids politics and simply focuses on the ups and downs of starting a family. (Not that there’s anything wrong with politics—I write about it enough myself—but for the vast majority of us, starting a family is less a political statement and more of a personal desire. It’s society that applies the political connotations. Refreshing to see a piece that gets back to the real heart of the matter.)

Secrets to Raising a Happy Child

I write a lot about LGBT-specific parenting here, but really, the commonalities of parenting transcend our differences. I found 7 Secrets to Raising a Happy Child, a recent guest post at Zen Habits by Sean Platt of Writer Dad, particularly thoughtful.

Go have a read. Have any child-raising secrets of your own you’d like to share?

Bad-Hair Songs from Erin Lee and Marci

Children’s musicians Erin Lee and Marci bring us the next of their regular posts with thematic recommendations for kid-friendly music, plus activities to make the songs an interactive experience for the whole family.

Look for Erin Lee and Marci here on the first Monday of each month, or visit their homepage, www.gottaplay.org.

I’ve created links to Amazon for the full albums (click the album image or name), plus links to Amazon MP3 downloads, when available, for those who want only the singles. (Click the song name.) I also have a widget after the jump that will let you preview all three songs without leaving Mombian.

Over the last two years we’ve explored some serious issues in this blog. We’ve talked about peace, tolerance, creativity and loneliness. We’ve talked about the importance of speaking your mind and standing up for others. So this month, we are bringing you songs about a very important, universal issue: Hair. We’re talking Bedhead. We’re talking Truly Terrible Haircuts. Read the rest of this post »

In Memoriam: Bonnie Tinker

Bonnie Tinker, a peace activist, lesbian mom, and head of the Oregon LGBT organization Love Makes a Family, died after a bike accident at Virginia Tech, where she was attending a conference. Tinker, 61, was hit by a truck and pronounced dead at the scene.

I did not know Tinker, but I am sure some of you did. Based on the online tributes that are starting to trickle out, she will be greatly missed by many in the LGBT community and beyond.

She also came from a family of activists. Two of her younger siblings made history when they were suspended for wearing black armbands at school to protest the Vietnam war. Their case, Tinker v. Des Moines, made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the right of public-school students to make such free-speech displays.

Tinker is survived by her partner Sara Graham and their three children, Alex, Josh and Connie.

My condolences to her family and friends.

Have a Good Holiday!

No Weekly Political Roundup this week, as I’m spending the time with my family for the holiday, and I suspect few of you will be around either.

Have a good holiday, if you’re celebrating it!