Archives › Politics and Law
Prop 8 Ruled Unconstitutional: One Step Closer to Equality
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has just ruled that Proposition 8, California’s ban on marriage of same-sex couples, is unconstitutional. The law “serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.”
Teen of Gay Dads — and Her Grandfather — Testify for Marriage Equality in NJ
Madison Galluccio, who has two gay dads, gave emotional testimony last Thursday at the New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing on marriage equality. Her grandfather followed, with heartfelt testimony of his own.
Weekly Political Roundup
Lots of marriage-related news this week. I do like to cover other political topics here, but this week just happens to be matrimonially inclined.
A broad coalition of civil rights, labor, progressive, faith, student, health, legal, women’s, and LGBT organizations, led by Freedom to Marry and HRC, announced support of the federal Respect for Marriage Act that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
An Ugly Shade of Pink: Susan G. Komen and the Politicizing of Cancer
As most of you have likely heard by now, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the country’s leading breast cancer charity, is revoking its grant to Planned Parenthood.
Discrimination Means Children with LGBT Parents May Face Extra Economic Hardships
There’s a myth that LGBT parents are all affluent—a myth perpetuated by many in the media, who tend to focus on upper-middle and upper class families when they do LGBT family stories. The reality is much different. Children being raised by same-sex couples are in fact twice as likely to live in poverty as those being [...]
Seeking Binational Same-Sex Couples Raising Children
Passing along this message from Immigration Equality, a national organization fighting for equality under U.S. immigration law for LGBT and HIV-positive individuals. They are seeking binational same-sex couples with children for an awareness campaign. Please respond to them at the link below if you are interested. Immigration Equality is hoping to find binational couples, who are [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
A weekly summary of LGBT political news highlights for busy parents. Freedom to Marry has launched Mayors for the Freedom to Marry, a bipartisan coalition of over 80 mayors who have pledged to support marriage for same-sex couples. Indiana has begun to issue a license plate designed to raise awareness about LGBT youth issues—the first [...]
Washington State Sen. Kevin Ranker (D-Orcas Island), not only endorsed Governor Chris Gregoire’s recent announcement that she would sponsor a marriage equality bill, but spoke from a very personal standpoint. Ranker has a gay dad. He released a statement, saying, in part: Marriage is more than just a collection of rights and protections—it is the commitment [...]
Does Mitt Romney Know He’s Quoting a Lesbian?
Mitt Romney has been frequently quoting “America the Beautiful” in his speeches. What he may not know is that the song was written in 1893 by Wellesley College professor, poet, and social activist Katherine Lee Bates—who lived with and shared her life with another woman, fellow Wellesley professor Katherine Coman. Lynn Sherr (Wellesley ’63) wrote [...]
Lesbian Moms Are Both Parents, Court Rules
In yet another “lesbians behaving badly” case, in which one lesbian mom tries to deny parental rights to a former partner after both have been raising a child together, a Florida court has said both moms are the legal parents of the child. Yes, Florida—which until just over a year ago was perhaps the most [...]
Lesbian Mom Challenges Marriage Inequality
This morning, lesbian mom Karen Golinski and her lawyers will appear in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, arguing a case that began with her seeking health care coverage for her spouse, but is now a direct challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). My interview of Golinski about the case, [...]
Lesbian Moms and Daughters Confront Homophobic Mayor
Lesbian moms Amy and Tina and their two daughters stood up at a meeting of the Troy, Michigan City Council, and addressed Mayor Janice Daniels about her homophobic Facebook comments in as classy a manner as I’ve ever seen. “We wanted to show up today to give you just a look at our family,” Amy said. Definitely [...]
Lesbian Moms: Building Character Since 1979
Last Thursday, I asked, “Does having lesbian moms—or other LGBT parents—affect one’s character?” Lawyer Nancy Polikoff left a comment that I thought was worth promoting up into a post. She mentioned that in the 1979 lawsuit M.P. v. S.P., an appeals court reversed a lower court ruling that had removed custody of children from their [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a speech that focused on the human rights of LGBT people—a speech that some LGBT advocates are already calling a “landmark.” Supporters of anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people in Anchorage, Alaska, appear to have collected enough signatures to put the measure on the April city ballot. The U.S. Ninth Circuit [...]
How Young Is Too Young? Kids Speaking Out for Equality
Many of you may have already seen the video of the eight-year-old son of a lesbian mom, who confronted presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, telling her, “my mommy’s gay but she doesn’t need fixing.” The remark seemed to have flustered Bachmann. But gay dad and columnist Dan Savage writes that, “We shouldn’t use our kids like [...]
“Let us be on the right side of history”: Secretary Clinton on LGBT Rights
President Obama today, International Human Rights Day, issued a presidential memorandum “directing all agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons.” In coordination, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a speech today that focused on the human rights of LGBT people—a speech [...]
LGBT Parenting Roundup
Here are some of the parenting-specific LGBT stories of late: Deborah Skolnik of Parenting.com writes at CNN of “The new normal: Stay-at-home Dads and gay parents.” A nice piece that shows the many different varieties of families and family organization. Allison Sherry at the Denver Post profiles U.S. Reps. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Cory Gardner [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), along with Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME), introduced the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act in their respective houses. The Act would offer the same benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of federal employees as to opposite-sex married spouses. The U.S. Department of Health and [...]
Iowa Court to Decide If Both Lesbian Moms Can Go on Child’s Birth Certificate
Yes, same-sex couples can marry in Iowa—but a state district court heard arguments last week in a case to determine whether the child born to a married lesbian couple has the right to have the names of both her parents on her birth certificate, as do children of same-sex couples legally married (and civil unioned) [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
First, a happy Veterans Day to all of you, including my spouse, who have served or are serving in our country’s armed forces. The observance this year is, of course, the first one at which gay and lesbian servicemembers can celebrate openly with their families. Over at the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Col. E. A. [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and 132 other Democrats filed an amicus brief in Massachusetts v. Dept. of Health and Human Services and Gill vs. Office of Personnel Management, asking the First Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court ruling that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. Seventy Massachusetts and national employers [...]
Weekly Recap
I’ve posted a few longish pieces recently, How to Help Aging LGBT Parents and Are Boys in Princess Dresses the Scariest Thing on Halloween?, along with information about a couple of major new reports on LGBT families, “Expanding Resources for Children III: Research-Based Best Practices in Adoption by Gays and Lesbians” and “All Children Matter: [...]
Lesbian Moms Among Plaintiffs in Servicemembers’ Lawsuit Against DOMA
This morning, eight current and former members of the U.S. armed services filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and “seeking equal recognition, benefits and family support for equal sacrifice and service in the U.S. Armed Forces.” Three of the plaintiffs are lesbian moms, including lead plaintiff, Major Shannon L. [...]
New Report Shows Inequalities for Children with LGBT Parents
A major new report, “All Children Matter: How Legal and Social Inequalities Hurt LGBT Families,” was released today by the Center for American Progress, the Family Equality Council, and the Movement Advancement Project, in partnership with COLAGE, The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, and the National Association of Social Workers (with a foreword by the Child Welfare League of America). It’s [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) became a co-sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the anti-LGBT Defense of Marriage Act. Levin was one of the leaders in repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Michigan state Rep. Thomas McMillin (R-Rochester) introduced a bill that would eliminate LGBT people as a protected class under all local [...]
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