“Capitol Hill sources” say the Matthew Shepard Act, an LGBT-inclusive hate crimes bill, will remain stalled in the Senate until at least September. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated, however, that she expects the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to come to the House floor for a vote in September. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reminded […]
Lesbian non-bio mom Keri Jones announced she will not appeal a February Utah Supreme Court ruling that said planning and raising a child with her (now ex) partner (and obtaining a court order designating both of them as co-guardians) was not enough to give her visitation rights. Jones says she fears a federal court would
Two articles caught my eye today, on two different issues. I was going to write about them separately, but then realized they in fact relate to the same matter—our identities as both LGBT individuals and parents. The first is an article in the Huffington Post by Evan Wolfson, head of Freedom to Marry. Wolfson says
More than half the babies in the U.S. born outside of marriage are born to women who nonetheless live with the child’s father, according to two new studies. This supports similar findings from the Pew Research Center, as I discussed a few weeks ago, that the number of those who do not marry, with or
Same-sex couples residing in New Mexico may now legally marry in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Registry of Vital Records and Statistics last Thursday issued “a corrective notice to all Massachusetts city and town clerks authorizing them to allow same-sex couples from New Mexico to apply for marriage licenses,” according to Gay
If you’re heading to Provincetown this weekend for Family Week, I hope you’ll stop by my Blogging Workshop, Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in the the Family Pride tent on MacMillan Pier. If you’re already blogging, please join us and share your experiences, pick up some new tips, or just say hi. If you’re not already
A judge in Madrid, Spain, denied custody of two girls to their mother based solely on the fact that she is a lesbian. He said her lesbianism would harm them and “raised the risk” the girls would also become lesbians. “It is understood that (a parent’s) drug addiction, child abuse, prostitution, belonging to a satanic
A vote on the Matthew Shepard Act, which would extend current hate crimes laws to cover sexual orientation, gender identity, and physical disability, was delayed when the Senate suspended debate on the Defense Authorization bill to which it was attached. HRC reports that a vote on hate crimes may not occur before Congress adjourns for
A Circuit Court judge in Multnomah County, Oregon ruled Friday that a non-biological mother should receive automatic legal parental status over her partner’s biological child—that is, without needing to go through adoption procedures. If this wasn’t good enough news, the judge also found that “two Oregon laws (ORS 109.070 and ORS 109.243) granting parental rights
This week, the U.S. Senate is expected to debate and vote on the passage of the Matthew Shepard Act as an amendment to the Defense Reauthorization legislation. This legislation would give the federal government authority to prosecute hate crimes based on real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, as well as real or
