Weekly Political Roundup

First: You’re all voting next Tuesday, right? No, no candidate is perfect. Sometimes we need to choose the better of two (or more) evils. I think it’s still important to make that choice, though.

• President Obama met with five progressive bloggers, who grilled him on marriage equality and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Joe Sudbay, who was there, has a transcript. Among other things, the President said he didn’t think the LGBT community’s disillusionment with his administration was justified.Regarding marriage, he said, “You’re right that attitudes evolve, including mine. . . . And so while I’m not prepared to reverse myself here, sitting in the Roosevelt Room at 3:30 in the afternoon, I think it’s fair to say that it’s something that I think a lot about,” and “The one thing I will say today is I think it’s pretty clear where the trendlines are going.”On DADT, he said that he did have a strategy for repeal in the lame-duck session of Congress.
• A new Defense Department survey found that most active-duty and reserve servicemembers would not mind serving and living with openly gay troops.
• One of the key election battles next week will be in Iowa, where anti-LGBT forces are attempting to oust the three judges up for a retention vote who ruled in favor of marriage equality.
• Wisconsin candidate for lieutenant governor Rebecca Kleefisch apologized for comments about the perils of redefining marriage. In a discussion about domestic partner benefits for state employees, she had said, “This is a slippery slope in addition to that—at what point are we going to OK marrying inanimate objects? Can I marry this table, or this, you know, clock? Can we marry dogs?” No comment.

Around the world:

• A gay rights group in Spain is planning to stage a kiss-in during the Pope’s visit next month.
• The Ugandan MP who introduced a bill calling for gay people to be jailed or executed, says his bill will soon become law. Let’s hope this is just political posturing.
• The U.K. LGBT rights group Stonewall, following a number of other groups, has added civil marriage for same-sex couples to its campaigning objectives. Same-sex couples in the country can currently enter legally recognized civil partnerships.

Incorrigible Bullies and Intolerant Jerks

Brett Berk, a former teacher and preschool director and author of The Gay Uncle’s Guide to Parenting, might be expected to have a few thoughts on the subject of bullying and schools. We’re lucky he’s taken time from his more recent topics of Glee and cars to ask (and answer): “Would Kids Be Such Incorrigible Bullies if the Adults Around Them Weren’t Such Intolerant Jerks?”

Once you’ve had your thoughts provoked by Brett, you can go read my more newsy piece on this week’s guidance to schools from the U.S. Department of Education, describing how current civil rights laws require schools to take action against bullying—including gender-based and sexual harassment of LGBT students.

Halloween Open Thread

No, it’s not Halloween quite yet, but I thought it would be fun for us to share some holiday cheer.

Leave a comment with something related to Halloween—your kids’ (or your) costume choices, favorite costume from the past, favorite candy (dark chocolate Hershey’s Miniatures, me), favorite holiday recipe or craft, etc.

I haven’t tried them yet, but I’m thinking these Pumpkin Whoopie Pies look pretty tempting. . . .

LGBT Parenting Roundup

Entertainment

• The Chicago Tribune profiles Laura Ricketts, co-owner of the Chicago Cubs and a lesbian mom—in fact, “the only openly lesbian owner of a major U.S. men’s professional sports team.”
• STLToday.com discusses The Talk, Sara Gilbert’s new mom-focused show on CBS. (Anyone catch it yet? What do you think?)
• Ilene Chaiken talks with After Ellen about being a mom, among other things.
• Wanda Sykes talks with Ellen herself about being a mom, among other things. (Video.)
• Is Sesame Street targeting a gay audience? Not intentionally, say its creators. But it sure leans that way sometimes, argue others.

Law and Politics

• Here’s my full news piece on the lifting of the adoption ban in Florida. Already, at least one lesbian couple have applied to adopt. (It’s unclear if they are trying for a joint adoption—which could be breaking new ground—or a single-parent adoption.)
• A judicial ombudsman in Israel ruled that a gay Israeli man who fathered twins with an Indian surrogate was subjected to “hurtful” treatment by an Israeli family court who initially denied him entry back into Israel with his children.

Personal Stories

• Paige Schilt at Bilerico shares a great and thought-provoking story on how to respond when your kids inquire about having dads.
• Ashli Doss of Florida A&M’s The Famuan writes about learning that her mom was a lesbian and dealing with friends whose families weren’t always accepting.

Resources

• U.K. LGBT organization Stonewall has released a Guide For Gay Dads. Sponsored by the London Sperm Bank, it “gives practical tips on how to become a father as well as facts about sperm donation and co-parenting.”

One Parent, Two Parents, Three Parents, Four . . .

Yesterday’s Boston Globe published a great article by Drake Bennett titled “Johnny has two mommies – and four dads,” asking, “As complex families proliferate, the law considers: Can a child have more than two parents?”

Good question, and one I’ve written about a few times before. In particular, Bennett looks at lesbian couples who want to include their sperm donor as a third legal parent—and in a few cases, have indeed been able to secure a “third-parent adoption.” This is, of course, not the same situation as when sperm donors suddenly want parental rights in the face of a couple’s opposition. Read the rest of this post »

Weekly Political Roundup

• Ask? Tell? Oh, I don’t know. Injunctions were flying everywhere, Dan Choi tried to reenlist, and the latest seems to be that the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has stopped the enforcement of the district court order that the military stop enforcing DADT. Sorting out the double negatives: DADT is still on.
• The November elections will be the first since the 1990s without a measure to ban marriage equality on any state ballot, notes the Associated Press (via 365gay.com), but the issue is still having an impact in state races across the country.
• The appeal in the federal Prop 8 case, to determine the constitutionality of the ban on marriage equality in California, will happen December 6.

Around the world:

• Australian independent MP Andrew Wilkie has called on Prime Minister Julia Gillard for a conscience vote on marriage equality. A new poll shows more than three-quarters of Australians support both the vote and marriage equality.
• More a feature than a news item, but this New York Times piece on lesbians in India is a good read.
• Irish independent senator David Norris could become the country’s first openly gay president, after he entered the race upon hearing of a Facebook campaign urging him to do so.
• A Ugandan tabloid published pictures of the “top homosexuals” in the country, along with a banner reading, “Hang them,” reports the AP. Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin had reported on this two weeks ago.

Florida Ban on Adoption by Lesbians and Gay Men Is No More

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced today that he would not appeal a ruling that last month struck down the state’s ban on adoption by gay men and lesbians.

I’ll have more details in another piece; for the moment I’ll refer you back to the news piece I did for Keen News Service a couple of weeks ago, when the state Department of Children and Families (DCF) said it would not appeal. You might also want to read today’s statement from the ACLU of Florida, which argued the case on behalf of plaintiff Frank Martin Gill.

Bottom line: DCF has not asked prospective adoptive parents their sexual orientation since the appellate court ruling of September 22 that struck down the ban. After 33 years of an unjust law, gay men and lesbians can now adopt in Florida.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Bullies

Can Harry Potter help our children learn to deal with bullies? That’s a question I tackle over at Our Big Gayborhood, the group blog run by the wonderful Lori Hahn, whom some of you may know from her erstwhile blog Hahn at Home.

Thanks to Lori for inviting me to contribute a post!