Politics and Law Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill that will give married, opposite-sex couples “placement preference” in the adoption of children, when all other factors are equal. The Virginia State Board of Social Services voted not to approve a proposal from former Gov. Tim Kaine (D) that would have prohibited discrimination against potential […]
Because today is the Day of Silence, an annual observance to raise awareness of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment, I’ll point out my piece over at Keen News Service on court cases sparked by the event. The Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) and the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) (which would allow people to sponsor same-sex partners
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last night that two gay men did not have the right to a reissued birth certificate for the Louisiana-born child they adopted in New York—a birth certificate that would have listed them both as parents (and a common practice for adoptive families). The state had denied the fathers
Just a few stories this week, but no need to wait: Personal Stories Sandy Boucher writes at Salon of not having kids, then becoming an unexpected grandma by virtue of partnering with a woman who was already a grandmother. West Philly Mama discusses her partner’s decision to go by “dad” rather than “mom.” Politics and
Pentagon officials told a House subcommittee that it may certify to Congress by mid-summer that it is ready to implement repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. A new study (PDF) from the Williams Institute of UCLA has found that roughly 9 million adults in the U.S. identify as LGBT, with an estimated 19 million reporting they
If there’s one thing I like as a consumer and erstwhile marketing professional, it’s a responsive company. I posted yesterday about a survey sponsored by TD Bank that explored how parents teach their kids financial literacy, but clearly focused only on opposite-sex parents. This morning, I received the following e-mail from Jimmy Hernandez, a media relations officer at TD Bank. I repost it here with his permission:
Personal Profiles South Coast Today (Massachusetts) profiles several gay dads and their struggle for acceptance. Pediatrician Maja Castillo writes for Gay City News about what happens when a child prefers one parent over the other, especially in cases of a biological and non-biological mother. Two lesbian moms in Birmingham, England have launched the U.K.’s first
The U.S. and 85 other countries backed a United Nations declaration calling for an end to violence and human rights abuses on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also issued a statement in support of ending such persecution and discrimination. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today denied a request from plaintiffs in California’s Proposition 8 case to lift a stay on a lower court ruling and allow same-sex couples to marry while the case is being heard. That means no wedding bells in the Golden State for the foreseeable future. I
I’m going to skip my usual Weekly Political Update since I’ve been playing hooky with my son all afternoon. His school had a half day and we’ve been enjoying the miraculous spring weather. I’ll leave you with one political item for the weekend, though: my piece at Keen News Service about a recent Delaware Supreme Court
