The U.S. House will vote on the Matthew Shepard Act, aka the Hate Crimes Bill, aka the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act tomorrow. HRC reports that the far right is “flooding Congress with calls, emails and sickening ‘fact sheets’ claiming that sexual orientation means criminal acts like bestiality and necrophilia, and that this
A very happy first day of legal marriage to the same-sex couples in Iowa who are getting hitched today, and a special congratulations to the children whose parents can now marry. It is worth noting, of course, that these marriages become worthless as soon as the families cross state lines or have anything to do
I wrote this back in November for 365gay.com, but never crossposted. A recent article in the Bangor Daily News, by Diane Schetky, clinical professor of psychiatry at the Maine Medical Center, reminded me about it. Schetky makes the same point that I did, which is that children are not necessarily harmed by growing up without
Three of the four states to enact marriage equality for same-sex couples are ignoring the existence of those with two moms or two dads. On the marriage license applications for Connecticut, Iowa, and Vermont* (PDF’s), applicants are asked to enter their names, with no requirement that one be “groom” and one be “bride.” So far
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted 15-12 to advance the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (H.R. 1913), aka the Matthew Shepard Act. The bill now goes up for a full House floor vote, which could happen next week. John Berry was officially sworn in as director of the Office of Personnel
On parental rights: A Michigan state House committee approved legislation for second-parent adoptions, splitting the vote along party lines. (Do I really need to specify which party voted in favor?) A Montana woman, Barbara Maniaci, is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that recognized her former partner as a co-parent
Breaking news: Shirley Tan, the lesbian mom who was on the brink of being deported and torn from her 12-year-old sons and her partner of 20 years, may now stay in the U.S. through 2010, the end of this session of Congress. Her reprieve is thanks to California Rep. Jackie Speier and Sen. Diane Feinstein,
Another 11-year-old boy, Jaheem Herrera, has hanged himself after enduring repeated bullying. (The horrible news comes via Will at Pam’s.) There is some reporting that he was bullied with anti-LGBT taunts, among others. Just last week, after the suicide of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, I asked “How many more children must die before we as a
(Parenting-related news gets its own roundup around here.) Steve Schmidt, John McCain’s campaign manager, said, “There is a sound conservative argument to be made for same-sex marriage.” (I leave it as a matter of discussion as to whether there is a sound argument for conservatism.) A new poll also shows Republican insiders are almost evenly
This week, Helen and I discuss how marriage equality in Vermont and Iowa affects families with kids, and, being coastal types, ask for ideas about family-friendly tourist attractions in Iowa. We also talk about why this year’s White House Egg Roll broke new ground, and wonder what to do with the three tons of chocolate
