Helen and I discuss the proposed legislation by our very own Massachusetts state rep, which could restrict children of LGBT parents from talking about their families in school and require students to get parental permission before joining gay-straight alliances. How should one approach such local homophobia? What are we planning to do? Plus shameless parental
The family of Larry King, a gay middle school student who was shot to death last year by a classmate, has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit that accuses the school district, a shelter, and the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance, an LGBT-rights organization, of failing to protect him. The suit claims the Alliance “encouraged him to make
(Originally appeared in Bay Windows, February 4, 2009.) “Family law is very vague,” says Kimberly Richman, an associate professor of sociology and legal studies at the University of San Francisco. “That leaves room for a lot of open interpretation.” In her new book, Courting Change: Queer Parents, Judges, and the Transformation of American Family Law
Lawmakers in both houses of Congress reintroduced legislation to allow a foreign national’s domestic partner in the United States to sponsor their immigration to the country. The bill is now known as the Uniting American Families Act. In celebration of Freedom to Marry Week, same-sex couples applied for marriage licenses around the country, including Dallas,
Yes, rumors are flying that President Obama will repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy. What happens when lesbian and gay personnel may serve openly, though, but will still not receive the support for their spouses and children to which other servicemembers are entitled? I explore that question in my column this week
News from here and there about parents, kids, and schools: Attorneys representing Brandon McInerney, the 15-year old accused of killing openly gay teen Larry King (who identified as Letitia King in the weeks before the murder) are asking an appeals court to order prosecutors to show how they determined McInerney should be tried as an
First, I’m still accepting posts for the Freedom to Marry blogswarm. Submit your link here. Second, because it’s a celebratory week here in the LGBT blogosphere, Robin at The Other Mother is kicking off a carnival today at her place, on the theme, “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” Here’s my contribution for
This is it! Add your post in support of Freedom to Marry Week to the form at the end of this post. You will help contribute to a blogosphere-wide education campaign about ways your readers can help promote fair legislation and rescind anti-equality measures. We’re also offering some exciting prizes. For each post you write,
President Obama has appointed Alison J. Nathan, who is openly lesbian, as his associate counsel. Nathan was recently the Fritz Alexander Fellow at New York University School of Law and a visiting assistant professor at Fordham Law School. During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Nathan was the national voter protection senior advisor to the Obama campaign
The Seattle Storm dropped basketball legend and gay mom Sheryl Swoopes from their roster this week, citing the league’s salary cap. (After Ellen reports that the NBA’s cap is $58 million per team, whereas WNBA teams have to make do with $803,000 per year.) The three-time WNBA MVP and three-time Olympic gold medalist said she’s
