The Oxford Union Society, the venerable debating society whose membership comes mostly from Oxford University, held a debate yesterday on the motion, “This house would be glad to have gay parents.” The motion passed, 345 to 21—but not without controversy. Those arguing in favor of the motion were Benjamin Cohen, founder of PinkNews.co.uk and Out4Marriage, Richard Fairbass,
Despite how it may appear, other things have been happening recently in addition to Jodie Foster coming out. Here are a few:
This is absurd and appalling. The Kansas Department for Children and Families has filed a claim demanding that the sperm donor of two lesbian moms pay child support, even though neither of the women nor the man wants him to do so.
Yesterday, I posted my column about the December 14th school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Today, I’m honored to bring you a guest post from my own mother, who had her own thoughts and offered to share them here. Some of our thoughts (not surprisingly) overlap, but she adds her own perspective as a mental health professional.
Thanks, Mom!
(I wrote this for my newspaper column the day of the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. I hope 2013 is the year we as a country begin to take serious steps to ensure such tragedies never happen again.)
This was going to be a very different column. Then 20 children died in Connecticut.
Gun control is only one part of what our country must do to reduce the chances of another school shooting like the one December 14 in Newtown, Connecticut—but it is a vital one. There are a number of petitions out now to let our elected officials know our thoughts on the matter. I’m highlighting a petition and a pledge from Moms Rising because they’re good folks who do a lot across the board to help those of us who have the honor of being called moms.
Here are a few of the stories I haven’t covered elsewhere, including good news from Michigan and some cautious moves forward in Europe.
An Iowa court yesterday ordered the state health department to issue an accurate death certificate for the stillborn son of Jenny and Jessica Buntemeyer.
Ashley Broadway has been with her spouse, an Army lieutenant colonel, for 15 years. They have a son (and will soon have an infant daughter) and have been together through numerous moves and deployments. When the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy was repealed, they became legally wed. Broadway has also assisted other military families through a variety of volunteer activities, including helping deployed soldiers find temporary homes for their pets. Yet when the family moved to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, the Officers’ Spouse Club (OSC) told Broadway that she did not qualify to be a member.
Like many people, I am still going through periods of fear and sadness as I think of the school shooting last Friday in Newtown, Connecticut. There is no lack of commentary on the tragedy, but here are a few that I found rise above the rest.
