The U.S. Supreme Court refused to take the case of a Kentucky high school student who wants to sue his school district over a policy he says barred him from expressing opposition to homosexuality. Alaska North Star Borough School Board voted to add gender identity to the nondiscrimination and harassment policies that cover students, staff, […]
(Originally published in Bay Windows, Thursday Feb 19, 2009.) Last week I registered my son for his first year in our public school system. It was one of life’s strange coincidences that news also broke last week about my very own state representative, House Minority Leader Bradley Jones, who filed a bill to require parental
The United States signed on with a number of other Western countries to a U.N. proposal that would condemn discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The measure failed because many countries in Africa and the Middle East, as well as China opposed the proposal. President Obama appointed campaign fundraiser Jeremy Bernard, who is
Passing along this information from COLAGE about their 2009-10 Fellowship Program. Any questions, please contact them. (Info at bottom of post.) In addition to the Fellowship below, COLAGE also awards four $1000 scholarships to children of LGBTQ parents. See their Web site for more details. The application deadline for the scholarships is May, 1, 2009,
If you’re like me, you’ve read an awful lot about Prop 8, and while you still want to get the word out to those who need education about it, are probably getting a bit tired yourself of reading yet another article pro or con. Read this one, though. It’s by Amanda Young of Verde, a
Helen and I discuss the proposed legislation by our very own Massachusetts state rep, which could restrict children of LGBT parents from talking about their families in school and require students to get parental permission before joining gay-straight alliances. How should one approach such local homophobia? What are we planning to do? Plus shameless parental
The family of Larry King, a gay middle school student who was shot to death last year by a classmate, has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit that accuses the school district, a shelter, and the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance, an LGBT-rights organization, of failing to protect him. The suit claims the Alliance “encouraged him to make
(Originally appeared in Bay Windows, February 4, 2009.) “Family law is very vague,” says Kimberly Richman, an associate professor of sociology and legal studies at the University of San Francisco. “That leaves room for a lot of open interpretation.” In her new book, Courting Change: Queer Parents, Judges, and the Transformation of American Family Law
Lawmakers in both houses of Congress reintroduced legislation to allow a foreign national’s domestic partner in the United States to sponsor their immigration to the country. The bill is now known as the Uniting American Families Act. In celebration of Freedom to Marry Week, same-sex couples applied for marriage licenses around the country, including Dallas,
Yes, rumors are flying that President Obama will repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy. What happens when lesbian and gay personnel may serve openly, though, but will still not receive the support for their spouses and children to which other servicemembers are entitled? I explore that question in my column this week
