The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision saying that parents have the right to opt out their children before LGBTQ-inclusive books are read in public school classrooms is awful for many reasons. I want to focus here, though, on one that may feel amorphous but that should be at the heart of our response: its attack on queer joy.
Children in Hawaii with LGBTQ parents now have access to more secure legal protections, after Hawaii Governor Josh Green (D) yesterday signed legislation updating the state’s parentage laws to be more inclusive of them and other children formed via assisted reproduction.
“Today’s ruling threatens the very essence of public education,” said U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a dissent after the court decided today that parents have the right to opt out their children before LGBTQ-inclusive books are read in public school classrooms.
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide tomorrow in Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case revolving around LGBTQ-inclusive books in public school classrooms. Two of the books in the case were published by Little Bee Books, whose CEO and editorial director spoke with me about LGBTQ inclusion, their partnership with LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD, and the case itself.
I wrote this piece just after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized marriage equality nationwide on June 26, 2015. I want to reshare it as we approach the 10-year anniversary, as a reminder of why so many of us queer parents and our children fought for marriage—and why marriage equality alone isn’t enough.
A new Nevada law will make it easier for nongestational LGBTQ parents to confirm their legal parentage via adoption, without burdensome and unnecessary requirements. Nevada becomes the 11th state to enact such legislation, less than two weeks after Vermont became the 10th.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender youth. It’s an awful outcome that reveals the hypocrisy of conservatives’ talk about “parental rights”—but trans rights advocates are vowing to keep fighting.
Iowa State Senator Zach Wahls (D), whose 2011 speech to the Iowa legislature about growing up with two moms went viral (twice!) during the state’s marriage equality battles, has announced he is running for the U.S. Senate, challenging incumbent Joni Ernst (R).
U.S. Space Force Colonel Bree Fram, a decorated officer with more than 20 years of service, is being kicked out of the military simply for being trans. She’s also a parent, and has spoken about the negative impact of the administration’s anti-trans policy on her family.
The Republican governor of Vermont, Phil Scott, signed a bill May 22 that will make it easier for nongestational LGBTQ parents to confirm their legal parentage via adoption, without burdensome and unnecessary requirements.
