One More from Maine

Happy Halloween to all! Here’s another solid ad from Protect Maine Equality. Let’s hope it makes Tuesday a little less scary.

Weekly Political Roundup

Wow. Another week of major news. I’ll keep this fairly short, though, as there’s bound to be lots of news next week after the elections, one way or another.

U.S. National News

• President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. It’s worth reading his remarks (link above) and Judy Shepard’s remarks, of course; I also enjoyed the comments by Allyson Robinson, Associate Director of Diversity at HRC. She says, “Today, my human value, as a transgender person and a lesbian, is explicitly acknowledged, for the first time in history, in the law of the land,” but also acknowledges that passing laws is in many ways the easy part—it is changing a culture that is difficult.
• President Obama signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009, re-funding the largest federal program specifically dedicated to providing HIV care and treatment. He also announced the elimination of the HIV entry ban, so that people who have HIV and are not U.S. citizens will be able to enter the U.S. starting in January 2010.
• On the “more work to be done” side, a gay Brazilian man has been denied asylum by the Obama administration. He had previously tried to claim asylum because he had been raped as a teenager in Brazil. It was denied, and he returned to Brazil, but not before marrying his now-husband in Massachusetts. An opposite-sex spouse, of course, would have been able to claim U.S. residency.
• The Obama administration also argued, in a lawsuit brought by Massachusetts, that states that allow same-sex couples to marry can’t force the federal government to provide benefits to those couples. At the same time, it said the administration supports repeal of DOMA but still must defend its constitutionality. As Nancy Polikoff points out, too, the government also said that in making its case, it will not use the argument that opposite-sex marriage is the best place for procreation and child-rearing. That’s a small step forward.
• Catherine Rampell has a thought-provoking piece in the New York Times, in which she notes that in many states legal and policy responses on gay rights lags behind much more liberal popular opinion, although marriage rights in California may be an exception. Read the rest of this post »

Protect Maine Equality Takes the High Road

Here’s the latest ad from Protect Maine Equality. I like it a lot. I think they smartly don’t fall prey to the “Yes they will” – “No they won’t” trap that tripped up California’s No On 8 campaign when fighting the claim that marriage equality would (gasp!) mean children get taught about homosexuality in schools. Instead, they take the high road and talk about protecting all families. It’s a classy ad, and more so because they’re fighting this kind of nonsense.

“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 88

I’m vlogging solo this week since Helen is away on business, so I’ve kept it short and sweet. I talk about seeing “Harry Potter: The Exhibition” with our son and reading the first book with him. I also discuss Scholastic’s request that an author change the lesbian moms of a character into a mom and a dad, the reaction from around the Internet, and the company’s response. (Regular readers will know I’ve covered the Scholastic issue extensively on the blog here already; I wanted to get the word out to the vlog-only audience as well.)

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

Brought to you in partnership with After Ellen.

Yet Another Scholastic Update – with Conan O’Brien

There’s always more to do. Reader Jersey Mom astutely pointed out in a comment (as did a reader over at Change.org) that Scholastic has only agreed to carry Lauren Myracle’s Luv Ya Bunches in their middle school Book Fairs, not their elementary school ones, even though the book is listed as appropriate for ages nine to twelve. Nine years old usually means fourth grade. Not only that, but the four protagonists of the book are in fifth grade. That’s elementary school, folks, in every school system I’ve ever known.

The fine folks at Change.org are going to speak with Scholastic and see what’s up. I’ll keep you posted on what they say, and what more we might do to help make the book available to all kids for whom it is appropriate.  My own sense is that Scholastic has made a move in the right direction, and we should acknowledge that—while at the same time letting them know that it is not enough. As all parents know, sometimes eliciting the proper behavior is done one step at a time, and a little praise along the way can help, even as we keep the pressure on.

On another, unexpected note, the story even caught the attention of Conan O’Brien. At about the 4:20 mark in yesterday’s Tonight Show, he talks about a book that was banned from book fairs because it had lesbian moms. He mentions neither Scholastic nor the title, but I think it’s clear he means Luv Ya Bunches. Watch it after the jump: Read the rest of this post »

Judy Shepard’s Statement on Hate Crimes Legislation

I don’t usually just post press releases, but I think this one from the Matthew Shepard Foundation needs no explanation. The legislation is due in large part to parental love.

After a decade of debate, persistent advocacy and 14 separate congressional floor votes, President Barack Obama today signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in a White House ceremony attended by the Shepard and Byrd families.

“When Dennis and I started calling 10 years ago for federal action to prevent and properly prosecute hate crimes against gay, lesbian and transgendered Americans, we never imagined it would take this long,” said Judy Shepard, Matthew’s mother and the president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation Board of Directors.

“The legislation went through so many versions and so many votes that we had to constantly keep our hopes in check to keep from getting discouraged,” she continued. “But with President Obama’s support and the continually growing bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate lining up behind the bill this year, it became clear that 2009 was the year it would finally happen.” Read the rest of this post »

Ellen’s Ideas for Kids’ Halloween Costumes

Enough of the serious political posts. We’ll have enough of that next week for the election. Here are Ellen’s ideas for kids’ Halloween costumes:

After the jump, The Onion’s video on “How To Find A Masculine Halloween Costume For Your Effeminate Son”: Read the rest of this post »

Scholastic Reverses Decision: Will Include LGBT-Inclusive Book in Book Fairs

Many of you have been following the story of Scholastic and their request that author Lauren Myracle change the lesbian moms of one character into a mom and a dad. According to the original article on this by School Library Journal, Scholastic would not consider the book for its book fairs unless the change was made.

Over 4000 people—many of you—signed a petition at Change.org asking Scholastic to reconsider. The hard-working folks at Change.org, especially Michael Jones, editor of their Gay Rights blog, also worked behind the scenes with Scholastic, and now bring us some good news: Scholastic will now include the book in their spring book fairs.

Scholastic’s full statement is here. Equally important going forward, the company, which only received a 50 out of 100 on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, is now on record as stating: “We are committed to a review process that considers all books equally regardless of their inclusion of LGBT characters and same sex parents.”

That’s a far cry from their response to SLJ’s first inquiries, when they said: “Authors are often given the opportunity to make changes in the books to meet the norms of the various communities that host the fairs.”

Did they change their minds, or was there an initial misunderstanding? You decide. Consider, though, that Myracle was kind enough to respond to an e-mail I sent her, before this latest news broke. She states:

I appreciate the support of Scholastic’s Book Club, which makes books available to kids through their catalog, and which is indeed offering Luv Ya Bunches to its readers. I have recently been informed that Scholastic Book Fair is considering Luv Ya Bunches for its spring school book fairs. That’s great. It’s so very important, I think, to reflect the wonderful diversity of our country and culture. I do, however, stand by what I told School Library Journal.

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