Sociologist Mark Regnerus of the University of Texas at Austin testified this week in a federal case to determine whether same-sex couples can adopt and/or marry in Michigan. The bad news? He’s a thoroughly discredited researcher whose work was backed by money from religious conservatives. Or maybe that’s the good news.
Lots of stories here I haven’t covered elsewhere, including a few that look at ramifications of some recent federal court decisions, a couple of jurisdictions reconsidering surrogacy laws, and some nice family profiles.
Yesterday saw not one, but two major wins for fairness and equality. Arizona’s Gov. Jan Brewer (R) vetoed a bill that would have allowed businesses to refuse service or employment based on “sincerely held” religious beliefs — designed to target LGBT people, but with much wider potential impact. And a federal judge in Texas ruled that the state’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples was unconstitutional.
The Arizona legislature passed a bill last Thursday that would allow businesses to refuse to serve or hire people based on “sincerely held” religious beliefs. The bill doesn’t mention LGBT people, but since its introduction, it has been clear that it was meant to target us. The bill could also be used to refuse services or employment to people of different genders, faiths, or other characteristics. Gov. Jan Brewer (R), a staunch conservative, has until Friday to decide whether to sign it. Here’s what you can do to try and stop her, regardless of where you live.
Yesterday in the Detroit Free Press (and picked up in USA Today), Tresa Baldas wrote about the federal case beginning today in Michigan that will determine whether same-sex couples can marry and adopt there. She states, “now, for the first time, scientific studies on same-sex parenting will undergo legal scrutiny.” Really? The first time? REALLY?
A new study has found that adolescents with lesbian moms had higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of conduct problems compared with peers in families that have a mom and a dad. Importantly, this is the first study to compare adolescent—parent relationships and well-being in families where the parents — both lesbian and straight — were all continuously coupled. This is key to combating some of the apples-to-oranges comparisons that have plagued right-wing analyses of lesbian and gay parenting — and seems perfectly timed to help fight a federal case that starts today.
I love the Olympics. I was a varsity fencer in college and have done serious stints with a few other sports. I love the life lessons sports teach, including dedication, leadership, teamwork, and dealing with both success and failure — all values I’d like to convey to my son. I get choked up during recap montages and medal ceremonies. Normally, then, the start of the Olympics is a time of celebration around my house. And then there’s Sochi.
One of the more delightful recent picture books featuring a child with LGBT parents is Elisabeth Kushner’s The Purim Superhero, about a child with gay dads celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim. I wrote about the book last year when it was first published — and am pleased to see that PJ Library, a project that sends free children’s books to Jewish families, is offering free copies of the book to subscribers who request it.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev last week signed a bill into law that bans foreign same-sex couples — and single people of any sexual orientation from countries that allow same-sex couples to wed — from adopting Russian children.
Today is a day to celebrate love. How appropriate, then, that late yesterday, Federal District Court Judge Arenda Wright Allen struck down Virginia’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples, and in her ruling, quoted Mildred Loving of Loving v. Virginia, the case that struck down that state’s and the country’s anti-miscegenation laws.
