As we head into Pride Month, I am moved once again to ponder all that I am proud of. My son tops the list, as always—but I am also proud of how we LGBTQ families and our allies have been able to keep pushing towards equality, despite an unprecedented amount of anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric right now.
Here are some stories from round and about that I haven’t yet covered, including family profiles and musings on parenthood, legal happenings, a WNBA star and queer mom making a big move, and some tidbits of media and entertainment.
Twenty years ago today, two moms received the first marriage license deliberately issued to a same-sex couple in the United States. They were accompanied by their daughter and by the attorney (another another queer mom) who had led the landmark case for marriage equality. Let’s take a further look at how parents and the welfare of children helped accomplish this milestone.
All children gain security and benefits from legal ties to their parents. Yet children with LGBTQ parents, and those born through assisted reproduction, lack clear and simple ways to establish legal parentage in many states. Two key advocates in Michigan’s successful recent effort to make parentage laws more equitable and inclusive shared advice with me that they hope will help other states do the same.
Today is the start of the WNBA season and the midst of the inaugural PWHL playoffs. (Go Boston!) Let’s celebrate with a some awesome family photos from queer parents in both leagues—plus a look at a great new middle grade book about a basketball-loving girl with two moms!
Healthcare insurance giant Aetna has agreed to a settlement after improperly making LGBTQ policyholders pay more out of pocket than others for fertility services.
Judy Shepard, who has dedicated her life to spreading acceptance after her son Matthew was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime, and Jane Rigby, senior project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope and a lesbian mom, on Friday received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President Biden has released new regulations affirming nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people in health care and for LGBTQ youth in foster care, and requiring access to foster care placements that are supportive of a child’s LGBTQI+ status or identity.
WNBA superstar and U.S. Olympian Candace Parker announced her retirement yesterday. She and Russian Olympian Anna Petrakova are raising two children and expecting a third this spring, so of course I have to offer a Mombian take on what she’s shown us about parenthood as well as basketball.
The U.S. Department of Education has released regulations that will better protect LGBTQ students, sexual violence survivors, and others against discrimination in schools. Regulations addressing the inclusion of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex students in school sports, however, are still pending.
