Forty-six years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized interracial marriage in its landmark Loving vs. Virginia decision. The resonance with the pending Supreme Court decision on marriage for same-sex couples is obvious—but there is another thing we should keep in mind as we reflect on the significance of this anniversary.
Eighteen-year-old high school senior Riley Roberts spoke to the Nevada Assembly last week in favor of repealing the state’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples. Why does he care? He has lesbian moms. Watch his emotional testimony after the jump.
The world’s largest study of children with same-sex parents, from the University of Melbourne in Australia, has released initial findings that show the children are doing just as well as any others—and better on some indicators. Before you dismiss this with an “I could have told them that,” read on for why this is important, and why we must use it with caution.
Yesterday, ExxonMobil shareholders for the 14th year in a row rejected a resolution to add sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to the company’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy—a policy that had been in place in the Mobil corporation before its merger with Exxon. And in a test conducted by LGBT group Freedom to Work, the company called back a less-qualified applicant over a more-qualified one, with the main difference in their resumes being that the latter volunteered with an LGBT-rights organization. So where will you fill up to take the kids to soccer practice?
There was so much good stuff going around for Mother’s Day that I neglected to share this great one-minute video from The Righteous Conversations Project, which brings together Holocaust survivors and teens to speak up about injustice. The video isn’t about the Holocaust, though; if anything, it’s about parental nagging in the age of social media. It comes via Keshet, the organization for LGBT inclusion in Jewish life—but I think it speaks to a commonality of many families.
Young adults with lesbian moms and male donors are generally happy with their relationships with the donors, a new study has found. Most do not view their donors as dads, but some still have a growing interest in seeing them more often than when they were younger.
Tomorrow, the Boy Scouts of America will be voting on a new policy that would lift the ban on gay scouts, while still banning gay and lesbian leaders. It’s a step in the right direction, but still an insult to gay scouts who will never be able to become leaders, and to those who have lesbian or gay parents, as I wrote when they first proposed it. Take action today to tell the Boy Scouts to allow gay scouts and leaders.
Eleven-year-old Caine was physically and verbally bullied because he has long hair and two moms. He spoke out to his school superintendent and board about it, citing the support of his family, and asking them what they intend to do “to ensure we all feel safe in your schools.”
In honor of mothers today, here are a baker’s dozen of memoirs by and about lesbian moms. They are not just for lesbian or LGBT audiences, however, but shed light on many of the universal challenges and blessings of motherhood.
The New Yorker’s terrific cover this week shows two moms reading a card while their children peek from the next room. Artist Chris Ware explained his thinking behind the image in a blog post titled “Happy Mothers’ Day.” That should come as no surprise; the magazine ran a cartoon in 2011 in which a girl with two mothers explains to her teacher how she punctuates the holiday. But as I pointed out then, “Mothers’ Day” doesn’t necessarily reflect all lesbian moms.
