Politics and Law
- Uruguay’s Senate approved a bill to allow same-sex couples and unmarried opposite-sex ones to adopt children. It now goes to President Tabare Vazquez, who is expected to approve. Uruguay would then become the first Latin American country to permit same-sex couples to adopt.
- In other happy news, same-sex female couples in the U.K. can now put both their names on the birth certificate of a child conceived through assisted reproduction. The couples need not be in a civil partnership.
Custody and Visitation
- From Nancy Polikoff comes yet another bio mom trying to stop her former partner, the non-bio mom, from having any contact with the child they created and began to raise together. We’ve all heard this type of story before; Polikoff notes that, “the court will not hear any evidence about the child’s best interests because it finds that the non-bio mom has no right to bring an action for custody or visitation at all. . . . Texas extends joint legal status to a nonbiological parent only when that parent is a man who is married to the woman who gives birth.” She adds, and I agree, “That’s no surprise. It’s just sad.”
- On a slightly better note, Polikoff also reports on a similar custody case in New York. The twist is that in considering the case, the New York Court of Appeals agreed to review a 1991 case that “established an iron-clad rule that a nonbiological parent has no standing to bring an action for custody or visitation rights.” Could they be reconsidering that ill-considered ruling? Polikoff says it’s a hopeful sign that they agreed to let the non-bio mom in the custody case continue visitation at least until they decide.
Schools and Youth
- GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) has published new findings about how regional, community-level, and school-district level variables relate to hostile school climates for LGBT youth. The article, in the August issue of the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, says that youth in rural and impoverished areas face increased levels of bullying and harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.
Entertainment
- Green Dads observes that the BBC show Torchwood, which has long had a bisexual male lead, throws in a nice line about a girl being fine knowing her uncle is gay because she has a friend with two moms.
Nancy Polikoff’s blog post neglects to mention that the non biological mom could have insisted on a second parent adoption in Texas to protect her rights. They are available and thus far have stood both cross- state and inter- state challenges.