What a week to be taking time away from blogging. I’m breaking my self-imposed absence, however, to pop in and say, “Go, Maine!” Governor John E. Baldacci today signed marriage equality into law. In the governor’s news release, he said, “In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions. I […]
Another week of political milestones: The Hate Crimes Bill, aka the Matthew Shepard Act, aka the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, passed the House. It would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the categories covered by federal hate crimes laws. The bill now moves to the Senate. President Obama has expressed his
Judy Shepard, mother of murdered student Matthew Shepard, was on The Rachel Maddow Show last night talking about the Hate Crimes bill, aka the Matthew Shepard Act, and about North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx’s statement that to call her son’s murder a hate crime is a “hoax.” No mother should ever have to go through
Lesbian mom? Split up? Fine, things didn’t work out, but don’t go trying to pretend your former partner and co-parent wasn’t a parent. There’s entirely too much of that going around. The Salt Lake City Weekly just reported on Gena Edvalson and Jana Dickson, who are in exactly this situation. Dickson is the bio mom,
Our stories told: Author, parent, and transgender woman Jennifer Finney Boylan recently told her story of transitioning in the New York Times’s column, “Modern Love.” Thanks to Family Equality for pointing out the piece. The 2009 Pride and Joy Families Weekend Conference in upstate New York was a big success, according to the Utica Observer-Dispatch.
The U.S. House will vote on the Matthew Shepard Act, aka the Hate Crimes Bill, aka the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act tomorrow. HRC reports that the far right is “flooding Congress with calls, emails and sickening ‘fact sheets’ claiming that sexual orientation means criminal acts like bestiality and necrophilia, and that this
A very happy first day of legal marriage to the same-sex couples in Iowa who are getting hitched today, and a special congratulations to the children whose parents can now marry. It is worth noting, of course, that these marriages become worthless as soon as the families cross state lines or have anything to do
I wrote this back in November for 365gay.com, but never crossposted. A recent article in the Bangor Daily News, by Diane Schetky, clinical professor of psychiatry at the Maine Medical Center, reminded me about it. Schetky makes the same point that I did, which is that children are not necessarily harmed by growing up without
Three of the four states to enact marriage equality for same-sex couples are ignoring the existence of those with two moms or two dads. On the marriage license applications for Connecticut, Iowa, and Vermont* (PDF’s), applicants are asked to enter their names, with no requirement that one be “groom” and one be “bride.” So far
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted 15-12 to advance the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (H.R. 1913), aka the Matthew Shepard Act. The bill now goes up for a full House floor vote, which could happen next week. John Berry was officially sworn in as director of the Office of Personnel
