Today marks the sixth anniversary of the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 children and seven adults (including the shooter) dead. Are we making progress towards ensuring this never happens again?
Time for another roundup of what’s happening in LGBTQ parenting that I haven’t written about already! Have a read and catch up.
Today is Giving Tuesday, but I’m not going to ask you to give to any particular organizations. (They’re probably already bombarding your inbox.) Instead, I’ll ask you to think about the ways in which we instill giving habits into our kids.
A simple, free form that gives both parents, regardless of gender, legal parentage of a child born to one of them, with the force of a court decree? Such a thing exists in a small but growing number of states, as the Associated Press recently reported. That’s terrific progress—but there’s still a long way to go before it’s a widespread option for securing parentage.
Today marks the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, a time to memorialize those who were killed because of anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. One lost would be too many—and there are dozens.
Yesterday’s election saw the first openly gay man—and gay dad—to win a governorship, the first lesbian mom to win election to Congress, and the first person with LGBTQ parents to win state or federal office.
Go vote! Now. Or after the kids are at school. Or when you pick them up, so they can come, too. Or on your way to work, from work, or on your lunch hour. Your vote matters because you matter.
When are you voting tomorrow? Do you have a plan? This could be one of the most critical elections in our lifetimes in terms of its impact on LGBTQ equality, reproductive rights, gun control, healthcare, education, immigration, separation of church and state, and so much more. We can’t sit this one out.
Despite a litany of hateful and harmful events in our country, this is not a time to despair, even though despair may be trying to peek in our windows. This is a time for action—and the best action we can take right now is to vote and enable others to vote as well.
This landscape is familiar, strewn with ash and blood. We’ve been here before, too often, seeking the living, counting our dead. I know the terrain, can pick my way stumbling over the bodies, the stench of fear and hatred lingering in the air; the thoughts and prayers; the headlines and statistics.
