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.
Mother’s Day is here, with Father’s Day on its heels. As we head into the season of parenting holidays this year, I am thinking about both parental rights and reproductive rights and our urgent need for actions in support of inclusion and justice.
President Joe Biden announced he is promoting Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to become White House press secretary when Jen Psaki steps down next week. Jean-Pierre will be the first Black woman and the first out LGBTQ person in the role—and also the first Black or queer mom!
Ten years ago this week, Jennifer Gennari published a middle-grade book about a girl with two moms in Vermont during the battle for civil unions there. Gennari guest posted here shortly afterward, explaining how seeing homophobia had motivated her to write the story. Today, as the book is one of many being targeted in a wave of book bans, she has guest posted again to talk about the current climate.
You’ve likely heard the news: A leaked draft opinion indicates that the U.S. Supreme Court will soon abolish the federal right to an abortion. This in itself will impact queer people as much as it will anyone—but could signal a threat to other LGBTQ rights as well.
Today marks the Day of Silence, when many students from middle grades to college choose to remain silent to protest the harm caused by harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ people in schools. This year, with a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills hitting young people especially hard, this silence needs to resonate more loudly than ever.
Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s award-winning picture book, And Tango Makes Three (Simon & Schuster), based on the true story of two male penguins who hatch an egg together, has been one of the most-challenged books in the country since shortly after it was published in 2005. Yet the current surge of book bans and challenges sweeping through the U.S. is different from anything they’ve seen before, they told me in an interview.
A divorce case playing out in Oklahoma offers a frightening reminder of why nonbiological/nongestational parents in same-sex couples need to get confirmatory adoptions, court orders, or equivalents, even if they are married and on their children’s birth certificates.
