Advocating

Arkansas Ban on Same-Sex Parenting Moves Ahead

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 […]

Weekly Political Roundup

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

A Commercial You Shouldn’t Miss

Garden State Equality, New Jersey’s LGBT advocacy group, nails it with this marriage-equality commercial featuring two gay dads:

Family Voices XV

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

Where We Are and Where We’re Going

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

Book Review: Playing with the Boys

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

Weekly Political Roundup

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

National Adoption Month: For the Good of the Children

Just in case you haven’t had your daily dose of irony, here’s a bit of news for the first day of National Adoption Month, “a month set aside to raise awareness about the adoption of children from foster care”: A Utah man, Gregg Valdez, who with his partner took in his niece’s four children when

Family Voices XIV

Here’s this week’s post in my Family Voices series. COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) member Isabel talks about having a mother who came out, the importance of being yourself and letting your children be themselves, and why COLAGE means so much to her. Tell us a little about the family in which you

Weekly Political Roundup

The Baldwin Amendment, which would have added gender-identity and -expression protections back into ENDA, is dead, and a vote on ENDA has been delayed. Presidential candidate Barack Obama incurred the wrath of many LGBT advocates when he scheduled an appearance with homophobic gospel singer Donnie McClurkin. Obama countered by also scheduling openly gay minister Andy

Scroll to Top