Stories. Legos. Cartoons. Three things that Chad and Lisa Johnson say make their neighbors “a regular family,” no matter that the neighbors are two moms, Colleen Ozolitis and Lee Ann Martinson, and their five-year-old sons. Washington United for Marriage, the coalition working to defend the state’s marriage equality law, created an ad featuring the Johnsons that will run statewide on broadcast and cable.
The presidential election is only 38 days away now, and early voting has already begun in some states. Consider this, then, a Mombian public service announcement: If you are not yet registered to vote, go do so after the jump. It’s online and it’s easy.
The French government is seeking to change all references to “mothers and fathers” in its civil code to the more neutral “parents,” as part of a new law that would also give equal adoption and marriage rights to same- and opposite-sex couples.
Today marks one year since the repeal of the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy forbidding lesbians and gay men from serving openly. That was, without a doubt, one of the biggest steps towards LGBT equality in our history—but LGBT servicemembers still do not have equal rights. LGBT parents in the military are among those continuing to tell their stories and inspire change.
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has published a new report, “Born Free and Equal: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in International Human Rights Law,” which is a good thing—but as LGBT family law expert Nancy Polikoff points out, is mysteriously silent on international law related to LGBT parents and
I’ve posted a similar version of this for a few years now, but it seems appropriate to do so again.
In honor of all the victims of the tragedy of September 11 and its aftermath, their families, and their friends.
Following the speech Tuesday night by gay dad and Colorado Rep. Jared Polis at the Democratic National Convention, Zach Wahls, the former University of Iowa student whose speech about marriage equality to the state House went viral—twice—on YouTube, spoke to the Convention on Thursday, quipping, “People want to know what it’s like having lesbian parents. I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m awesome at putting the seat down.”
The gay dad in question is, of course, Congressman Jared Polis (D-Colo.), who told the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night: “My great-grandparents were immigrants. I am Jewish. I am gay. I am a father. I am a son. I am an entrepreneur. I am a congressman from Colorado. I am always an optimist. But first and foremost, I am an American.”
The California legislature advanced two bills recently that would provide greater protection and equality to lesbian families and others that don’t fit the “mom-dad-kids” mold.
Tired of the the Republicans’ anti-LGBT and anti-women platform? The Family Equality Council (FEC) has an alternative. The organization yesterday released its Family Platform, calling for “the full inclusion of all families, including families headed by LGBT people and same-sex couples, in the life of our nation.”
