North Carolina voters have approved a state constitutional amendment that bans not only marriage for same-sex couples, but also any form of relationship recognition. The state already banned marriage for same-sex couples by statute; putting it into the state constitution makes it harder to challenge.
I have a love-hate relationship with the term “LGBT parenting.” On the one hand, I often say I write a column about LGBT parenting, insofar as I write for and about LGBT people who are parents. On the other, I believe that we LGBT folks change diapers, sing lullabies, help with homework, and drive to soccer practice like any other parent. There’s no “LGBT” way (or even, separately, lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender ways) of doing those things—which makes me doubt whether there is such a thing as “LGBT parenting.” Is there?
Sometimes it’s good to be reminded of how far we’ve come. In 1995, Floridian Mary Ward lost custody of their daughter to her ex-husband, even though he had been absent from the girl’s life for six years—and been convicted of murdering his first wife in a custody dispute. Why did the judge not award custody to Ward? She was a lesbian. Now, a new documentary tells the sobering story of the case.
Today marks the first-ever International Family Equality Day, an event designed “to bring together LGBT families of all kinds to celebrate their family pride and ongoing efforts for full family equality,” Family Equality Council, one of the participating organizations, tells us.
Last week, after I posted the short documentary “Listen from the Heart,” several of you said you said you were touched by the story of lesbian moms Laura Fitch and Jaime Jenett, and their son, Simon Lev Fitch-Jenett, who is battling cardiomyopathy, a serious heart condition. Turns out they have a blog, and so my Post of the Week comes from them.
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) has just announced the publication of Transgender Family Law: A Guide to Effective Advocacy, “the first book to comprehensively address legal issues facing transgender people in the family law context and provide practitioners the tools to effectively represent transgender clients.”
Dr. Abbie Goldberg, author of the highly recommended Lesbian and Gay Parents and Their Children: Research on the Family Life Cycle, is now blogging at the Psychology Today Web site in a new column, “Beyond Blood.”
The 7th Annual Blogging for LGBT Families Day is now less than one month away! To participate, simply blog at your own blog on a topic related to LGBT families on or before June 1, 2012. Then visit www.mombian.com to submit the link to your entry. Any blogger who wants to support LGBT families is
Led by a brass band, the two swans named “Boston’s most famous waterfowl” will parade to their summer home in the Boston Public Garden today, welcomed by Mayor Tom Menino and other local luminaries. Despite their names—Romeo and Juliet—they are in fact a same-sex female pair who laid eggs and prepared for parenthood together.
