My 10-year-old son throws around the word “epic” on a daily basis. His newest Pokémon card? Epic. His latest zombie-defeating battle in Minecraft, his favorite online game? Epic. The word seemed in danger of losing its original clout—and then the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). That, I told him, was epic.
Marriage equality isn’t the only area where moms have been in the news this week pushing for LGBT equality. Two Ohio mothers with LGBT children are leading a campaign asking parents and relatives of LGBT people to encourage their senators to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
The past couple of weeks have seen a new round of progress in several marriage-equality lawsuits—and just as with the cases that brought down the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, lesbian moms are again in the forefront, along with a number of gay dads. Two of the cases (in Michigan and North Carolina) even began as challenges to state bans on second-parent adoptions, and later evolved into marriage-ban challenges as well.
I wrote this for my Mombian newspaper column the week before the Supreme Court ruled on DOMA and Prop 8. I think the sentiments still hold, and are a good way to close out what may have been the most exciting Pride Month ever.
As we head into the end of a milestone week for LGBT equality, please enjoy this short video of three California same-sex families, including two dads (with their daughter) and two moms, talking about what this week’s Supreme Court rulings on marriage mean to them.
As we all ride the waves of elation and joy from yesterday’s marriage equality victories, we lesbian moms can take extra pride in knowing that several of our own were among those leading the way. Prop 8 plaintiffs Kris Perry and Sandy Stier have four kids. And attorney Mary Bonauto, who has been called the “mastermind” of the DOMA repeal, has twins.
The U.S. Supreme Court has just ruled that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional—in other words, that the federal government must recognize legally enacted marriages of same-sex couples. The Court also said those defending California’s Proposition 8 had no standing to do so—clearing the way for same-sex couples to marry in California.
Today’s the day. Really. No more waiting. At 10 a.m., the U.S. Supreme Court will announce its remaining decisions for the session, including ones in the two marriage equality cases under consideration.
I was feeling punchy yesterday when waiting to see if the Supreme Court would issue its decision on marriage equality. I’m in a more serious mood today, though, so I thought I’d share this video of Catriona and Cathy, a binational couple who are fighting to keep their family together despite the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
Today is Juneteenth Day, which marks the emancipation of Black slaves in Texas in 1865, and celebrates emancipation generally. It’s a good day to reflect both on racism and on the many overlapping issues of social justice in our country.
