Is that Penguin Insured?
A Florida college is offering employees pet insurance after denying them insurance for same-sex partners. This of course begs the question of whether the pet insurance would cover gay penguins.
Politics and Law
No Sperm for You
Right after the good news from Australia’s national elections comes the more worrisome news that the New South Wales upper house will likely approve legislation allowing reproductive donors “to demand their sperm or eggs only go to certain religious, ethnic or cultural groups or be reserved for heterosexual couples.” The bill would also require sperm
A New Day for LGBT Australians?
Making international headlines this week is the defeat of Australia’s prime minister, John Howard, a Bush ally, and the triumph of Labor’s Kevin Rudd. Reader Mace, who founded the Lesbian Parents Australia Yahoo! group, wrote “we no longer have a conservative government in Australia … and that is a new beginning with lots of renewed
Weekly Political Roundup
The U.S. Senate and House are arguing over the LGBT-inclusive hate-crimes provision attached to the 2008 defense authorization bill. The Senate approved the bill but now House Armed Services Committee leaders are concerned they do not have enough votes to pass the bill with the hate-crimes provision included. At this point, a vote on the
LGBT Activities for National Adoption Month
Two major LGBT organizations have launched initiatives in honor of National Adoption Month and National Adoption Day: The Family Equality Council (formerly the Family Pride Coalition) has launched an Adopt A Rainbow Action for November. Each rainbow you “adopt” is a pledge to volunteer one hour of time to a local/national fostering or adoption agency,
Arkansas Ban on Same-Sex Parenting Moves Ahead
Somehow this news slipped by last week, but it’s a frightening step towards banning same-sex couples from adopting or fostering children in Arkansas: Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel approved a ballot initiative proposed by the conservative Family Council to ban unmarried couples from adopting or becoming foster parents in the state. This is the second
Weekly Political Roundup
The much-debated Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed the U.S. House without protections based on gender-identity or expression. Its fate in the Senate is unclear, and President Bush has said he will veto it in any case, so it is unlikely ENDA of any sort will pass before the next administration (and let’s hope it’s a
A Commercial You Shouldn’t Miss
Garden State Equality, New Jersey’s LGBT advocacy group, nails it with this marriage-equality commercial featuring two gay dads:
Where We Are and Where We’re Going
A new study from the Williams Institute at UCLA (PDF link) has shown that the number of same-sex couples in the U.S. reporting themselves as “unmarried partners” quintupled between 1990 and 2006. The biggest increases were in socially conservative Southern and Mountain states, and states barring legal acceptance of same-sex couples. This seems odd—or highly
Weekly Political Roundup
House Democratic leaders put off a vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) for the second week in a row, raising further doubts about the future of the legislation. A slew of LGBT supporters of John Edwards released a letter explaining why they think he is the best candidate. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is trying