A few victories to make your week—and could a queer mom end up as prime minister of the U.K?
Politics and Law
- A bill in Colorado that would have allowed adoption and foster care agencies to use religious beliefs as an excuse to discriminate against LGBTQ prospective parents, LGBTQ youth, and others, failed to pass in the state senate. Similar bills in Kansas and Oklahoma are still in play.
- An Illinois appeals court ruled that a nonbiological mother is a parent to the child she and her former spouse were raising. Last month, a Mississippi court ruled likewise in a similar case. These are only the latest of many child custody cases involving biological mothers trying to cut off their former spouses from contact with the children. I think it’s only going to get harder for biological moms to try this in the future, however, given recent rulings like these and the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Pavan v. Smith last July, which said Arkansas may not prevent married same-sex couples from having both of their names on their children’s birth certificates.
- The Star Observer reports on “The Roadblocks Facing Rainbow Families in Australia.”
- Segueing from political to family stories: The leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, Ruth Davidson, is expecting a first child with her partner Jen Wilson. The couple is engaged, but delayed their wedding last year in order to pay for medical treatment for their dog when he was hit by a car. Here’s the extra interesting bit: She could very well become prime minister of the U.K. someday, bringing up their child at 10 Downing St., the prime minister’s official residence. As the Guardian reports:
Yet despite the party membership’s socially conservative values, Davidson remains one of the grassroots’ favourite politicians — one that many would like to see in No 10 one day. A ConservativeHome poll of party members after the snap election found that Ruth Davidson had the highest satisfaction rating among party members of any senior Conservative figure. What’s more, Davidson’s decision to have a family — seen as a sign of stability and commitment — will most likely further endear her to Tory members.
Compare and contrast to conservatives in the U.S.
Family Stories
- Joanne Spataro, who is trying to start a family with her fiancée, a transgender woman, writes in the New York Times about their “Adventures in Transgender Fertility.”
- Architectural Digest, a publication I’ve never cited before, ran a great piece on “What Growing Up with 2 Moms Taught Me About Hetero Cohabitation” by Isabel Galupo that you should all go read. Galupo explores how her parents’ flexible gender roles and divvying of household chores has influenced her in her own straight relationship.
- In the “fictional family stories” department, over at Gays With Kids, author Chris Lacroix shares an excerpt from his forthcoming novel, Sandwiched, about a gay man who chooses family over career.