Bits and pieces from the info-stream:
Politics and Law
- A follow-up to my story about the change to U.S. passport applications to say “Mother or Parent 1″ and “Father or Parent 2”: Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-VA) introduced a new bill that would require federal agencies to use only “mother” and “father” in all official forms. He called the Parent1/Parent2 change, “a bureaucratic attempt to redefine traditional parent roles.” (Forbes aside, the new passport application is expected to be available March 1.)
- An Arizona Senate committee passed a bill that would give married, opposite-sex couples preference in adoptions.
- Maryland will now allow a woman to be named as a parent on the Maryland birth certificate of the child born to her same-sex spouse, without the necessity of a court order, if the two married legally in another jurisdiction. Lambda Legal cautions, however, “These families should still protect their children with formal adoptions by the non-biological parent.” (That’s because the non-bio mom’s right to be on the birth certificate is based on her marital relationship, which isn’t recognized in all states.)
- Michigan lawmakers plan to introduce a bill to legalize second-parent adoptions in the state.
- The Washington state legislature is considering a bill to recognize same-sex domestic partners as legal parents to the children they have and raise together. As I read it, it would also recognized two people as parents even if they were not in a domestic partnership, but one consented to the insemination of the other through assisted reproduction, or if they both lived together and held out the child as their own. (I’m not a lawyer, though, so do consult one if you live in Washington.)
Other News
- I’ve posted already about new data showing the prevalence of same-sex parents in the South. As part of the ongoing conversation on what that all means, I recommend: “Southern culture plays role in gay-led families,” by Matt Comer of Q Notes, and “Gay parenting takes off in the Bible Belt,” by Rich Phillips of CNN.
- Annette Bening, star of lesbian-mom film The Kids Are All Right, spoke at an Oscar luncheon about the dignity of all families.
- Lesbian moms, civil partners, and Royal Air Force corporals Jo and Elle Kirk-Harris will represent the RAF at Manchester Pride.