U.S. National News Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), sponsor of a bill to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) said it wouldn’t be repealed in this Congress and that efforts next year will focus on building support for the issue. A Senate committee approved the nomination of openly lesbian law professor Chai Feldblum as a […]
Two stories caught my eye today that show the value of making personal connections, even when the barriers between people seem insurmountable. They make a good pair of pieces for weekend reading. One is Steven Goldstein’s piece at Blue Jersey, which I mentioned in my Political Roundup this week. Steven is the chair of Garden
First, the story that should be making the most headlines next week: A New Jersey Senate committee will consider a marriage equality proposal on Monday. The proposal could be posted for a full senate vote later in the week. Steven Goldstein, the indefatigable chair of Garden State Equality, has been doing a heroic job of
. . . but we couldn’t. The New York State Senate failed to pass a marriage equality bill yesterday on a vote of 24-38. Not even close. Never mind that the state has one of the biggest meccas of LGBT life in the country, and is home to the Stonewall Inn, the place where the
Just to mix things up, let’s start with some news from the Commonwealth of Nations: Celia Hannon of the U.K.’s Guardian weighs in on the debate about the merits of lesbian parents vs. straight parents. Her take on the matter is similar to mine, which is that the whole debate about which sexual orientation makes
Here’s a quick roundup before everyone takes off for the holiday: Politics and Law Nancy Polikoff offers her expert analysis of the decision this week in the Jenkins-Miller custody case I mentioned Saturday. Nancy has read through the ruling (she’s a lawyer, and has access to this sort of thing before us mere mortals), and
In what the Vermont Rutland Herald is calling “a first-of-its kind parent custody change,” Judge William Cohen of the Rutland Family Court yesterday granted sole custody of 7-year-old Isabella Miller to her non-biological mother, Janet Jenkins. Jenkins has been fighting her former partner Lisa Miller for visitation for years now. Miller says she is no
U.S. National News The House Oversight & Government Reform Committee approved the Domestic Partnership Benefits & Obligations Act, which would offer the same benefits, including health insurance and pensions, to same-sex partners of federal workers and to opposite-sex spouses. (This news comes via the DC Agenda, the reincarnated Washington Blade.) The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court
Equality California has a new ad, featuring Mary Kate, the teen daughter of lesbian moms Frances and Cynthia. They will be running it against an ad by Carrie Prejean, the former Miss California USA, during Sunday’s new Miss California USA pageant. EQCA explains: Remember the uproar when former MISS CALIFORNIA USA Carrie Prejean said that
Politics and Law The Massachusetts legislature held a hearing on an anti-bullying bill that would include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories. Sirdeaner Walker of Springfield, Mass., whose 11-year-old son, Carl J. Walker-Hoover, committed suicide in April after being subject to extensive anti-gay taunts, was among those who spoke at the hearing. Lawyer
