A married same-sex couple is suing the U.S. State Department for refusing to recognize the U.S. citizenship of their child despite the fact that both parents are U.S. citizens.
Connecticut and Oregon each enacted laws in June that extend paid family leave with broad definitions of who’s in a family, among other new provisions.
It’s been a disappointing few days for legislation that would have helped LGBTQ families, as bills that would have more effectively protected families formed through assisted reproduction failed in both New York and Rhode Island.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court not only ruled in favor of a nonbiological mother in a child custody case yesterday, but established guidelines for future cases, writing conclusively that “A non-biological same-sex parent stands in parity with a biological parent.”
New York State, where the Stonewall Riots accelerated the LGBTQ rights movement, is in many ways one of the most LGBTQ-friendly states around. Yet the state’s laws do not yet effectively protect families created through assisted reproductive technologies. That could change very soon.
For the sixth Congress in a row, the Every Child Deserves a Family Act (ECDF) has been introduced in an attempt to ensure that no child lacks for a home because of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or religion. This year’s version of the bill goes even further, however, offering new protections and resources.
It’s only surprising if you weren’t paying attention. The Trump administration let slip last week that they are considering two paths to allowing discrimination against LGBTQ people and others in adoption and foster care, following up on what they’ve intended for a long time.
This Memorial Day, may we spare a thought for all those who have given their lives in service to our country, including service members who were LGBTQ.
Not only does today mark the 15th anniversary of the landmark decision that first brought marriage equality to a U.S. state, and the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, but it will now also be known as the day a comprehensive, federal LGBTQ civil rights bill first passed a chamber of the U.S. Congress and the day that Taiwan legalized marriage for same-sex couples—the first country in Asia to do so. Progress to celebrate—but there is further to go, as the Equality Act faces a tougher battle in the Senate, and same-sex couples in Taiwan still will not have equal adoption rights.
Fifteen years ago today was the first legal wedding of a same-sex couple in the United States—moms Hillary and Julie Goodridge. Now they and their daughter Annie are sharing more about their fight to marry and the stress that it caused on their relationship—stress that caused them to divorce five years later. It’s a sobering tale about the price that progress can have on activists and their families.
