Here are a bunch of stories I haven’t covered (or covered lightly) elsewhere. It’s a big roundup, so pull up a chair and get comfy.
Family Profiles
- The other day, I wrote about the “Voices of Children” brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of marriage equality. It’s no surprise that national LGBTQ organizations the Family Equality Council and COLAGE headed the effort—but it is surprising that they were joined by an 18-year-old from Kentucky. Kinsey Morrison. Morrison has two moms and two sisters. She and her siblings made a video about why their moms should marry, and it caught Family Equality’s attention. Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade has more about Morrison, her family, and how the brief could impact the court.
- ELIXHER has a great interview of moms Shannon and Ngowo Nash-Miller of Minnesota about being new moms, balancing work and family, choosing their daughter’s name, and more. I love that they say, “One thing that’s been true for us going into this was we wanted to maintain a lifestyle that involves traveling and eating out.” I’ve always felt parenting shouldn’t require giving up all of our previous interests and activities; it just means fitting them into our lives in a different way.
- Ariel Chesler at TIME magazine writes about feeling “ashamed” about being raised by two women, his process of “coming out” about his family, and how the U.S. Supreme Court can make sure another generation never knows the same pain.
Entertainment
- While I don’t often post local events here, this one is too cute not to mention: Central Library Manchester (U.K.) will be hosting the Hope Theatre’s live production of Here Comes Tango, based on the true story of two same-sex penguin dads that you probably know from the book And Tango Makes Three
. The event is in partnership with Proud 2b Parents, a service for LGBTQ parents, parents-to-be, and their children. Here’s the event information—but check out this photo to see the adorable hats worn by the actors playing the penguin dads. (Bonus fun fact: It’s not the first time the penguins’ tale has been performed. A similar show ran at the University of Texas-Austin in 2012, although the local school district blocked a performance at an elementary school.)
- Actor and television host Sara Gilbert and singer Linda Perry had a baby, their first together. (Gilbert has two children from her previous relationship with television producer Allison Adler.)
- Apple’s iOS 8.3 looks set to include emojis of same-sex parents and our kids, along with the ability to customize skin tone of emojis. As far as I can tell, however, the custom color applies to the whole emoji, so multi-racial families are still left out. Let’s do something about that, clever people at Apple.
Getting Pregnant
- Vanessa at Autostraddle shares her tips in “Here’s What You Need to Know Before DIY Insemination.”
Politics and Law
- Nebraska has stopped enforcing its ban on gay men and lesbians becoming foster parents. A spokesperson for Gov. Pete Ricketts said the policy still exists, but the Department of Health and Human Services “has fallen out of compliance with it.” The administration will be reviewing the policy. A bill in the state legislature would also prohibit discrimination in foster placements on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, among other characteristics.
- A Michigan House Committee, however, has passed three bills that would allow taxpayer-funded adoption agencies to deny adoption placements based on that agency’s moral or religious beliefs. Equality Michigan notes that ‘the bills acknowledge that denying a couple based on religious or moral convictions does not imply “that the proposed adoption is not in the best interests of the adoptee.’ Additionally, the bills protect public funding for agencies choosing to discriminate.” To take action against these bills, visit the Equality Michigan website.
- Florida finally gets with the program as the state House votes to remove from its statutes the ban on adoption by gay and lesbian people—only five years after an appeals court declared it unconstitutional and allowed them to adopt.
- The U.K. has refused asylum to Aderonke Apata, a Nigerian woman who claims she would be persecuted because she is a lesbian. The Home Office argues that she can’t be a lesbian because she has children and has had relationships with men. Apata argued her case at London’s High Court this week.
- “If just 1% of the LGBT population were to adopt or foster, there would no longer be any children waiting for a new home,” estimates New Family Social, a U.K. charity for LGBT adopters and foster parents. It’s the organization’s annual LGBT Adoption and Fostering Week, and they’re the subject of a nice long article in the Guardian on the increase in LGBT foster and adoptive parents, and their greater willingness to adopt harder-to-place children. The piece is particularly notable for including the profile of a transgender adoptive parent.
- The U.K. government has confirmed that the number of children adopted by LGBT parents has reached record highs in the past year.
- Slovenia has approved marriage and adoption for same-sex couples.
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