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:Â my piece at Keen News Service about a recent Delaware Supreme Court
For your weekend pleasure: please enjoy this very cool ad from IKEA, for its new Italian store in Catania, Sicily, featuring two men holding hands and the tag line, “Siamo aperti a tutte le famiglie,” or “We are open to all families.” The usual outrage has ensued from the usual parties. I say they should get a
School Issues The New York Times reports on parents who are objecting to inclusion of same-sex families, gay people in history, and other LGBT content in school curricula. If you read the above, you should also read the great piece in the Advocate by Stuart Biegel, a member of the education and law faculty at
(Originally published as my Mombian newspaper column.) For same-sex couples wanting to have children, knowing where to begin can make a big difference. For couples starting their families through biological means, one new resource is the Family Building Options Web site, part of the Fertility Lifelines educational program created by pharmaceutical company EMD Serono. Despite
A U.S. House panel ordered the House general counsel to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court, even though President Obama recently said his administration would no longer defend it. Members of the U.S. Congress introduced a passel of bills this week designed to protect students from bullying, and including explicit protections on
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Westboro Baptist Church, an anti-gay hate group, had a first amendment right to protest near the funerals of American soldiers killed in Iraq. U.S. House Speaker John Boehner announced he will convene a bipartisan meeting to determine how Congress can defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in
In yesterday’s LGBT Parenting Roundup, I mentioned the two gay dads who had run into difficulties bringing their son, born in Ukraine to a surrogate, into Belgium to live with them. The boy has lived in an orphanage for over a year because of Belgian surrogacy laws that kept him from his fathers. Good news.
While you’re still yawning after staying up too late to watch the Oscars, here’s an extra-large, fully caffeinated dose of LGBT parenting news to wake you up: Court Cases Heard this one before? Lesbian moms split up. Bio mom tries to keep nonbio mom from child. Custody battle ensues. Such cases are all too frequent—I
A few little things happened in LGBT-related politics this week, hmm? The Department of Justice announced that it has concluded that the part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) preventing the federal government from recognizing legal marriages of same-sex couples is unconstitutional. The DOJ will therefore not defend it in two pending cases in
