As I’ve mentioned once or twice before, I’ve recently started writing for the Gay Rights section of Change.org, an “online hub for social change.” It gives me the chance to write about various LGBT issues not necessarily focused on parenting—though I may sometimes tackle parenting issues there as well. Here are a few of the […]
What happened to the ENDA vote Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) said would happen this week? Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) now says she hopes it will happen in the next couple of weeks. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a House committee that Congress should not pass its own repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell before he
Last week I discussed the film Mom’s Apple Pie, which documented the role of lesbian moms in the early LGBT rights movement (and is now out on home video). Now comes word of Raising Hell, a half-hour documentary by Ed Webb-Ingall that profiles the experiences of the young adult and adult children of lesbian and
(No vlog this week. Helen’s been away on a business trip, and it’s too hard to sit there talking to myself.) Faith In an essay for Commonweal magazine, an anonymous lesbian mom discusses her Catholic faith, her and her partner’s decision to send their children to Catholic school, and the welcome they received there, in
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, a case that explores whether student groups are able to exclude students based on “status or beliefs” if doing so violates the school’s anti-discrimination policy. President Obama’s administration is sending mixed messages about whether a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell will happen
We’re Cooking Now Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh, the two gay dads and caterers who won the first season of The Next Food Network Star have invited former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (of “children are not puppies” fame) to dinner to meet them and their adopted son. McDonagh wrote on his blog: Mr. Huckabee, I
Several federal departments under President Obama have made moves to benefit the LGBT community, but the Department of Education has done little. This is despite growing evidence that LGBT youth are among those most at risk and that safe-schools programs benefit all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. I’ve explored this issue in
The Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) would prohibit discrimination against employees on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation and is one of the key pieces of LGBT-related legislation pending this year. ENDA applies broadly across the LGBT community, and isn’t specific to those of us with children (as are, say, adoption rights), but some
A circuit judge today struck down Arkansas’ ban against unmarried couples adopting or foster-parenting children. The Arkansas law was approved by voters in November 2008, during the same election that in California saw the imposition of Prop 8, which halted the previous legalization of marriage for same-sex couples. The news must be particularly galling to
President Obama issued a memo directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure that same-sex partners have the same visitation rights as other immediate family members. HHS should “Initiate appropriate rulemaking . . . to ensure that hospitals that participate in Medicare or Medicaid respect the rights of patients to designate visitors.” The
