The U.S. Senate and House are arguing over the LGBT-inclusive hate-crimes provision attached to the 2008 defense authorization bill. The Senate approved the bill but now House Armed Services Committee leaders are concerned they do not have enough votes to pass the bill with the hate-crimes provision included. At this point, a vote on the […]
Two major LGBT organizations have launched initiatives in honor of National Adoption Month and National Adoption Day: The Family Equality Council (formerly the Family Pride Coalition) has launched an Adopt A Rainbow Action for November. Each rainbow you “adopt” is a pledge to volunteer one hour of time to a local/national fostering or adoption agency,
Here’s this week’s post in my Family Voices series. COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) member Terrance talks about being the gay son of a gay dad, his many non-profit activities, and some of the lessons he’s learned over the years. A big thank you again to COLAGE for asking their members to participate
Somehow this news slipped by last week, but it’s a frightening step towards banning same-sex couples from adopting or fostering children in Arkansas: Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel approved a ballot initiative proposed by the conservative Family Council to ban unmarried couples from adopting or becoming foster parents in the state. This is the second
The much-debated Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed the U.S. House without protections based on gender-identity or expression. Its fate in the Senate is unclear, and President Bush has said he will veto it in any case, so it is unlikely ENDA of any sort will pass before the next administration (and let’s hope it’s a
Garden State Equality, New Jersey’s LGBT advocacy group, nails it with this marriage-equality commercial featuring two gay dads:
Here’s this week’s post in my Family Voices series. COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) member Asha talks about being second-generation queerspawn, how to survive when families get “messy,” and why COLAGE matters to her. Tell us a little about the family in which you grew up. Who was in it? Anything particular you’d
A new study from the Williams Institute at UCLA (PDF link) has shown that the number of same-sex couples in the U.S. reporting themselves as “unmarried partners” quintupled between 1990 and 2006. The biggest increases were in socially conservative Southern and Mountain states, and states barring legal acceptance of same-sex couples. This seems odd—or highly
Originally published in Bay Windows, November 1, 2007. Governor Deval Patrick recently endorsed presidential candidate Barack Obama with the Red Sox reference: “Around here, we know how to come from behind and win.” His statement underlines just how deeply sports are ingrained in American culture. Sports are also, in our society, fundamentally gendered, with different
House Democratic leaders put off a vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) for the second week in a row, raising further doubts about the future of the legislation. A slew of LGBT supporters of John Edwards released a letter explaining why they think he is the best candidate. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is trying
