LGBT Parenting Roundup

• LGBTQ Parenting Roundup, Politics and Law, Raising, Schools/Education • gender expression, minnesota, sex ed
  • Shirley Tan, the lesbian mom in California who was on the verge of being deported and separated from her partner and twin sons by immigration officials, has been given a two-week reprieve.
  • Congressional sponsors reintroduced the Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act, which states that federally funded sex education programs in the nation’s public schools would be prohibited from discriminating against, and possibly omitting information about, gay people. The bill has been stalled in committee since 2001 for the obvious Republican reasons.
  • Robert DeKoven, a professor at California Western School of Law, wrote a good article building on the recent Williams Institute study that found same-sex couples are “significantly” more likely to be poor than opposite-sex married couples. He says the disenfranchisement begins in childhood for many LGBT people, and explains how two new California bills to expand foster care services could help.
  • Dunnellon High School in Florida sent 11th-grader Justin Reynolds home after he showed up at school dressed in a V-neck T-shirt, blue jeans, and high-heeled boots, with earrings, a necklace, eyeliner, and mascara. Reynolds said it was an expression of himself and wasn’t disruptive, despite school officials’ concerns.
  • The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a hold on an order to put both fathers’ names on the birth certificate of a boy born in Shreveport and adopted in New York State by a gay couple. Two weeks ago, a federal judge had given Louisiana 15 days to add the names.
  • Louise at Pam’s has a good summary of explanations as to why marriage equality in Maine is good for children. (She includes a few counterarguments so you can see how ridiculous they are.)
  • The Minnesota Senate and House committees responsible for education policy voted in favor of the “Minnesota Safe Schools for All Bill,” developed by Family Equality Council and OutFront Minnesota, in coalition with over 35 diverse community groups. The bill now moves to the full Senate and House, but faces opposition from right-wing groups. Right now, 93% of Minnesota school districts do not protect against bullying and harassment based on sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, and association with people who are targeted because of their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. Family Equality has more on what you can do to help.
  • The parents of Ohio student Eric Mohat, 17, have filed a lawsuit in federal court against two of his school’s administrators and one teacher, claiming they failed to prevent the harassment that led him to suicide.
  • The new leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, has been a strong opponent of the Sexual Orientation regulations that forced Catholic adoption agencies to accept same-sex couples as potential parents, and has criticized provisions to protect gay students from bullying in schools.
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