Politicians in at least two states have proposed bans on minors attending drag shows, including all-ages shows and Drag Queen Story Hours. Hear what drag queen and children’s author Lil Miss Hot Mess and others have to say about this—and learn more about her books and many more celebrating kids and drag!
An Oklahoma judge has vacated her earlier decision that ordered a nongestational mother removed from her child’s birth certificate. This means the mom can stay on the birth certificate, but still does not guarantee her parental rights. It’s a case all queer parents should note carefully.
From the latest “queer parents making a mark” files: The U.S. Senate voted at the end of May to confirm Charlotte Sweeney, a Colorado employee rights attorney and a lesbian mom, to the federal judiciary. She will be the first out LGBTQ federal judge in Colorado and the first out LGBTQ woman to serve as a federal district court judge in any state west of the Mississippi, according to the White House.
This was going to be a very different column. Then 19 children and two adults were shot and killed by a gunman at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Nineteen children and two adults dead. I have written about far too many mass shootings in the United States since I started this blog 17 years ago, and far, far too many that have taken place in schools. Here are some resources for talking about the tragedy with children, taking action to help the victims’ families and community, and furthering gun control.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) yesterday signed “Marlo’s Law,” which will ensure critical legal protections for families formed via assisted reproduction and is named after the child of the bill’s co-prime sponsor, a lesbian mom. The Colorado legislature has also recently passed a bill ensuring that donor-conceived people have access to certain information about their sperm/egg donors.
In 1989, I was part of the March for Women’s Lives in Washington, DC, as abortion rights were at risk of being overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. I was still recently out as a lesbian, with no thoughts of parenthood yet on my mind, but the idea of the government forcing people to carry unwanted or life-risking pregnancies was as anathema to me as it telling me who to love.
Today is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT)—but it’s really more than that, with two other key civil rights events also happening on this day in history!
Family stories, entertainment tidbits, and some political news I haven’t covered elsewhere!
The New York Times just published an article about J. Shia, owner of a vintage motorcycle repair shop in Boston. If you recognize her name, that might be because this motorcycle builder, artist, and queer mom has also been fighting for the right to equal, legal parentage—a right that a pending bill could help ensure.
