A few items worthy of note that I haven’t covered here before, including another sports star coming out about his lesbian moms.
Politics and Law
- I’ve written several times about the struggle of gay and lesbian parents in Russia, and the bill that would give the government the power to take away their children simply because of their sexual orientation. Bloomberg ran a piece with even more stories from lesbian parents and their children about trying to hide their family connections in order to stay safe.
- Children of same-sex parents were less likely than those with different-sex married parents to have private health insurance, according to a new study. The difference is smaller in states that recognize the parents’ relationship or that allow second-parent adoptions. Children with unmarried different-sex parents were also less likely to have private insurance than those with married different-sex parents, but “signiï¬cantly more” likely to be covered by public insurance than those with same-sex parents.
- A transgender man in Germany gave birth earlier this year, and petitioned a court for the right to be called the baby’s father, Germany’s The Local reported — a request that it seems to have granted, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail. (Via HuffPo.) The Daily Mail is wrong, however, in claiming he is the first transgender man in Europe to bear a child; another man in Germany did so about 15 years ago, as the Daily Express reported (and I mentioned here at Mombian) in 2008.
- LGBT family law expert Nancy Polikoff brings us up to speed on two recent court decisions: one that shows the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (and some family lawyers) just can’t get their heads clearly around the fact that a nonbio mom is a parent; and another in which an Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld a lower court giving custody to a child’s biological father, citing the mother’s “lifestyle choices,” including having female romantic partners stay overnight. Polikoff notes that the court also had concerns about the mother’s lack of employment, but rightly says, “but if these were legitimate concerns they would need to stand on their own without concern about her same-sex partner.”
Books and Media
- Laura Matanah, founder and executive director of Rainbow Rumpus, the world‘s only online literary magazine for children and youth with LGBT parents, is stepping down from her position, although the Rumpus will continue without her. I wish her all the best.
Celebrity
- Alexander Krausnick of the Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Eskimos spoke with the Edmonton Sun about growing up with lesbian moms. (Via Outsports.)
- Mary Cheney, daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney and a lesbian mom, called her sister Liz Cheney “dead wrong” to oppose marriage for same-sex couples. Liz Cheney (R) is running for a U.S Senate seat in Wyoming.