This roundup looks at further negative impacts of recent executive orders, but also at another lawsuit against them, the introduction of positive legislation in two states, and some family profiles and celebrity moments of queer joy.
Politics and Law
- The recent executive order restricting birthright citizenship could impact LGBTQ families in several ways, explains The 19th. Notably, by “[defining] mother and father as male and female ‘biological progenitors,’” the order is “disregarding families made up of same-sex, transgender or nonbinary parents.” That means that even legally married queer couples, where one person is not a U.S. citizen or is a new one without sufficient residency, could find themselves and their children caught up in uncertainty and years of legal entaglements, as they did before a change in State Department policy in 2021.
- Three courts (as of this writing) have granted preliminary injunctions to stop this executive order, per the ACLU.
- New York Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D) and Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas (D) have introduced the RAISE Children Act (S.4555/A.4880) to codify and create clearer paths to parentage for LGBTQ families and others. Family Equality has details.
- Pennsylvania Senators Carolyn Comitta (D), Judith Schwank (D), Patty Kim (D) and Maria Collett (D) will soon introduce a bill to protect LGBTQ prospective parents from discrimination in foster care and adoption, per WTAJ.
- Two queer parents—Pete Buttigieg (D), former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D)—are the leading contenders for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat, reports LGBTQ Nation.
Education
- The 74, a nonprofit news organization covering America’s education system during the last two decades, has an in-depth look at the states that have adopted laws requiring LGBTQ-inclusive curricula and how those mandates are going. TL;DR: Not always so great. The article explains, “During the last two decades, the number of LGBTQ students who say they are exposed to inclusive instruction has dropped nationwide, from 20% to 16%. Nearly 15% say they are taught negative depictions. And though it’s early in the implementation process in some places, the number of students who say their classes included positive lessons in the seven states that mandate them ranges from 15% to 32%, with an average of 22.5%.” Effective local implementation of the policies is unsurprisingly key—but it’s worth reading the piece to see where and why this has both succeeded and failed.
Resistance and Hope
- Two transgender young adults, along with five trans adolescents and their parents, have filed a federal lawsuit, PFLAG v. Trump, challenging the executive orders that are trying to prohibit federal funding of gender-affirming health care for anyone under 19 and that recognize only two sexes. The plaintiffs and their families are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Maryland, and law firms Hogan Lovells and Jenner & Block—joined by PFLAG National and GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality. While the outcome of the case is as yet undetermined, I always say it’s never a good idea to mess with PFLAG parents.
- A staff member at the National Women’s Law Center has written “A Letter to My Transgender Daughter.” It speaks of transphobia and the slew of recent executive orders—please consider your own well-being when deciding whether to read it—but it also offers a glimpse of hope and shows how parents supporting their trans kids want what any parent does: for their children “to exist, to be seen fully, to be treated with dignity and respect.”
- Another worthwhile recent piece by the parent of a trans child is “Trans Children Are God’s Gifts,” by Molly Carnes in the Texas Observer. Among other things, this self-described Christian parent notes, “In my faith, God is a Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And there is not a single human characteristic—tall to short, light-skinned to dark—that is binary. God’s universe is vast and endless.” (Content warning: mention of suicidal ideation.) Read more about her family’s story in the excellent American Teenager, by Nico Lang.
- As part of Family Equality’s “Letters from Home” project, Denise Brogan-Kator, Family Equality’s Chief Policy Officer Emeritus and a transgender parent, shares part of her own story and offers her advice on remaining visible and making a difference.
Family Profiles and Celebrity News
- After singer St. Vincent won a Grammy for Best Rock Song, she thanked “my beautiful wife Leah, our beautiful daughter,” revealing her relationship and family to the public for the first time, per People.
- Former U.S. National Women’s Soccer Team player and queer mom Ashlyn Harris interviewed former NFL football player, reality TV star, and gay dad Colton Underwood on a recent episode of her new podcast, Wide Open with Ashlyn Harris. They talk parenting, coming out, relationships, being oneself, and more.
- Comedian and lesbian mom Wanda Sykes starred in a new Super Bowl ad promoting breast cancer awareness, and spoke with People about her own breast cancer diagnosis and double mastectomy, talking with her kids about it, and keeping fit with her family.
- Queer parent elite athletes posting adorable family Instagram pics recently include WNBA player Brittney Griner, retired New Zealand National Team soccer (football) player Kirsty Yallop, former PWHL player Madison Packer, UK wheelchair basketball player Laurie Williams, and former WNBA and Spanish National Team player Marta Xargay Casademont.
- TV director Andrew Swann shares with the Independent his ongoing quest to become a solo gay dad.
