The new year is starting out with all kinds of news about LGBTQ parents and our children. Among other things, we’ve got a federal lawsuit moving forward, a new mayor, parents and children standing up for their rights, a teacher showing how to be inclusive, and a business recognizing that parenting is not just about moms.
Politics and Law
- The judge who took a foster child from two moms in order to place her with different-sex parents has retired after “widespread criticism” of his action.
- A federal judge refused to throw out a lawsuit in which FedEx is denying a widow the survivor pension of her spouse, a longtime employee who died of cancer.
- Jackie Biskupski took office as mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, the state’s first openly LGBTQ mayor, while Annise Parker, mayor of Houston, Texas and also a lesbian, stepped down because of term limits. Both are mothers as well.
Family Profiles
- The first same-sex couple to do a second-parent adoption in Virginia shared their story with WTVR. Their son has had five brain surgeries, and before the adoption, medical professionals would question his nonbiological mother’s right to make decisions about his care.
- Teen Hudson Garner writes at HuffPo about his day in court trying to convince the state of Mississippi to let his nonbiological mom do a second-parent adoption. Mississippi is the only remaining state in the nation that does not let same-sex couples adopt.
- One of the six U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan last month was the first openly lesbian active-duty U.S. servicemember to die in action. She was also a mom.
- HuffPo profiles Amy Ford and her spouse Kim, two White moms raising three Black girls in Austin, Texas.
Schools and Media
- Unicorn Booty shares the story of how Pamela Strong, an elementary school teacher in Ontario, is teaching her students about LGBTQ people. “When these conversations are properly supported by teachers within the safety of the classroom, they provide a rich environment for our students as they unpack these complex social issues and they reflect on their own preconceptions, rights, of gender, sexuality, love, all these different things,” she said.
- A parent teacher organization in Monroe, Michigan, have refused to stock Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot
at their Scholastic book fair. The Scholastic rep apparently told them that it “might be a little controversial.” Why? One page that shows a character who grows up to be gay, and depicts him sitting on a sofa with his husband and kids. The horror.
- Cartoon Network in the U.K. has edited an episode of Steven Universe so as not to show a same-sex almost-kiss. The Mary Sue nails it when they say this is really about the parents’ discomfort, not the kids’.
Business and Advertising
- Amazon has changed the name of its “Amazon Mom” program to “Amazon Family,” reflecting the company’s own wording in most non-U.S. countries where it operates. Two dad bloggers led a campaign to make the change in the U.S., as Gays With Kids explains. Kudos to Amazon for finally including parents of all genders.
- The American Family Association, which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has launched a petition for its supporters to tell Allstate Insurance to “stop its promotion of normalizing homosexual parenting when children’s welfare is at stake.” The insurance company released a commercial last year showing two gay dads and their baby. Here’s how you can tell Allstate to keep supporting families of all types.
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