France’s highest court ruled Friday that same-sex partners both have parental rights, even if only one is the biological parent of a child. Same-sex couples cannot currently adopt children, however, but they can register for civil unions. PlanetOut speculates that the new ruling could trigger changes in these laws. Vive la France!
I was really trying to avoid the serious politics for a few days. Then the South Dakota legislature passed a bill banning almost all abortions, even in the case of incest or rape. The only exceptions would be if the mother’s life was in danger. According to the Associated Press report, the governor is “inclined”
Keeping with the theme of political satire today: Ohio senator Robert Hagan is seeking sponsors for a bill that would forbid households with one or more Republicans from adopting children or becoming foster parents. He cites “Credible research” that suggests such children “. . . are more at risk for developing emotional problems, social stigmas,
I’ve written a lot about politics this week, so in lieu of the weekly political roundup I’ve been doing, I’ll point out a hysterical satire on educational testing by Anna Quindlen in Newsweek. I’ve written before that I take a dim view of “teaching to the test”; Quindlen, however, dares to dream what might happen
New research from UCLA indicates that the mothers of multiple gay sons tend to process X chromasomes differently from other mothers. This provides further evidence that sexual orientation is genetically determined. The results aren’t conclusive at this point, and other researchers caution that further study, with a larger sample, is needed, but it’s still an
That’s the very tongue-in-cheek premise of a scathing article in the Hartford Courant, in response to a request by the conservative Family Institute of Connecticut to weigh in on same-sex marriage before the state Supreme Court. The Institute claims that children are “disadvantaged” living in same-sex households, and thus same-sex couples shouldn’t be allowed to
USA Today has just published a piece on same-sex adoption, noting that 16 states have now taken action to pass laws or create November ballot initiatives to ban it. One member of a conservative “pro-family” (gag!) group sees this as an extension of same-sex marriage bans: by preventing same-sex marriage, and then defining marriage as
Florida’s Senate tabled a bill that would have granted adoption rights to same-sex couples. A Missouri Circuit Court has granted foster-parenting rights to a lesbian couple. It is unclear whether the state will appeal the ruling. New Jersey’s Supreme Court heard arguments on behalf of couples claiming that denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples
It’s Valentine’s Day, and all I can think about (well, until my partner comes home) are the two court cases, one today and one tomorrow, that could have a tremendous impact on LGBT families. In Florida today, the Senate Committee on Children and Families is voting on whether to permit adoption by same-sex parents. Heart-wrenching
New Jersey could shortly be the second state to legalize same-sex marriage, and the first to do so through the judiciary rather than the legislature. Lambda Legal’s groundbreaking case, Lewis v. Harris, will go before the state Supreme Court next Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. Garden State Equality, New Jersey’s LGBT-rights group, will be holding a
