A weekly summary of LGBT political news highlights for busy parents. Freedom to Marry has launched Mayors for the Freedom to Marry, a bipartisan coalition of over 80 mayors who have pledged to support marriage for same-sex couples. Indiana has begun to issue a license plate designed to raise awareness about LGBT youth issues—the first
Washington State Sen. Kevin Ranker (D-Orcas Island), not only endorsed Governor Chris Gregoire’s recent announcement that she would sponsor a marriage equality bill, but spoke from a very personal standpoint. Ranker has a gay dad. He released a statement, saying, in part: Marriage is more than just a collection of rights and protections—it is the commitment
Mitt Romney has been frequently quoting “America the Beautiful” in his speeches. What he may not know is that the song was written in 1893 by Wellesley College professor, poet, and social activist Katharine Lee Bates—who lived with and shared her life with another woman, fellow Wellesley professor Katherine Coman. Lynn Sherr (Wellesley ’63) wrote
In yet another “lesbians behaving badly” case, in which one lesbian mom tries to deny parental rights to a former partner after both have been raising a child together, a Florida court has said both moms are the legal parents of the child. Yes, Florida—which until just over a year ago was perhaps the most
This morning, lesbian mom Karen Golinski and her lawyers will appear in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, arguing a case that began with her seeking health care coverage for her spouse, but is now a direct challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). My interview of Golinski about the case,
Lesbian moms Amy and Tina and their two daughters stood up at a meeting of the Troy, Michigan City Council, and addressed Mayor Janice Daniels about her homophobic Facebook comments in as classy a manner as I’ve ever seen. “We wanted to show up today to give you just a look at our family,” Amy said. Definitely
Last Thursday, I asked, “Does having lesbian moms—or other LGBT parents—affect one’s character?” Lawyer Nancy Polikoff left a comment that I thought was worth promoting up into a post. She mentioned that in the 1979 lawsuit M.P. v. S.P., an appeals court reversed a lower court ruling that had removed custody of children from their
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a speech that focused on the human rights of LGBT people—a speech that some LGBT advocates are already calling a “landmark.” Supporters of anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people in Anchorage, Alaska, appear to have collected enough signatures to put the measure on the April city ballot. The U.S. Ninth Circuit
Many of you may have already seen the video of the eight-year-old son of a lesbian mom, who confronted presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, telling her, “my mommy’s gay but she doesn’t need fixing.” The remark seemed to have flustered Bachmann. But gay dad and columnist Dan Savage writes that, “We shouldn’t use our kids like
President Obama today, International Human Rights Day, issued a presidential memorandum “directing all agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons.” In coordination, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a speech today that focused on the human rights of LGBT people—a speech
