LGBTQ Parenting Roundup
Let’s roll into February with a roundup of LGBTQ parenting news that I haven’t covered elsewhere!
Advocating
Jewish Book Program Sending 14,000 Families with Toddlers a Free Two-Mom Story
PJ Library, which sends free books to families raising Jewish kids, has included a board book with a two-mom family in this month’s shipment to families with 1-year-olds—marking a striking change from how the organization handled a book with a two-dad family just a few years ago.
Removal of Transgender Military Ban Is a Victory for Trans People and Their Families and Children
President Biden’s executive order yesterday ending the ban on transgender people serving in the military is not only a victory for the many trans people in uniform, but also for the children and families they support.
Bernie’s Mittens Were Made by a Queer Mom
Senator Bernie Sanders’ wooly mittens, which he wore to the inauguration, have been taking the Internet by storm. The woman behind them is a second-grade teacher in Vermont—who just happens to be a queer mom!
9 Highlights for LGBTQ Families from the First 24 Hours of the Biden Presidency
I slept better last night knowing that the U.S. nuclear codes were in the hands of someone not likely to make ego-driven decisions. I woke up refreshed thinking about the first vice president who is a woman, Black, and of South Asian descent. And I was delighted for LGBTQ families, who have a number of reasons to celebrate today.
An Open Letter to Joe Biden from a Lesbian Mom
Dear President-elect Biden:
I’m writing you this open letter as you prepare to take office as president. My son was just a few months too young to vote in the last election, but watched it with great concern, for its results would directly impact him and his family. Would the next administration be one that treated our family with equality? Would it view families like ours as part of the rich fabric of American diversity or as aberrations?
Biden Nominates Pennsylvania Secretary of Health, a Transgender Parent, as Assistant Secretary for Health
President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, who has led the state’s COVID-19 response, as assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services. Levine, a transgender woman, is also the parent of two grown children. Her nomination comes days after President Trump’s HHS finalized a rule that would allow schools to misgender and discriminate against transgender students. Do you sense change?
DeVos’ Department of Education Says Transgender Students Not Protected; Must Be Treated According to Biological Sex
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made sure she struck one more time at LGBTQ youth as she stepped down last week, with her department issuing a memo saying that “gender identity” was not protected under laws that ban discrimination on the basis of sex, and that schools are within their rights to misgender transgender students and force them to participate in programs and use facilities based on their biological sex.
Trump’s HHS Finalizes Rule Allowing Discrimination in Foster Care, Adoption, and Other Social Services
Not letting a little thing like insurrection stop them, the Trump administration on Thursday finalized a rule that will allow foster care and adoption agencies, along with other public health and social service organizations receiving taxpayer funds, to discriminate against LGBTQ people and others.