The Massachusetts Parentage Act (MPA) would ensure that all children in the state, including those with LGBTQ parents, have equal access to the protections of legal parentage. While it had a hearing last November and has strong support, it still needs a push to become law, said advocates of the bill at a panel today.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has issued guidance stating that it is illegal to deny minors gender affirming care when “medically appropriate and necessary,” and directing the HHS Office for Civil Rights to investigate violations of the applicable laws.
I launched my Mombian Database of LGBTQ Family Books, Media, and More because I’ve seen the power that representation can have, both in my own family and with other LGBTQ families and LGBTQ youth. That’s why I’m also proud to join PFLAG in their new #ReadWithLove campaign supporting the freedom to learn for all students. Here’s a roundup of some pieces I’ve written recently on the topic, and a bit more about the campaign.
A bill that just passed its final legislative committee hearing in Florida and now heads to the floor could soon squash all discussion of LGBTQ identities in schools—but Florida is not the only state pushing for such legislation. The attempt to remove content and discussion about LGBTQ and other marginalized identities from classrooms is a nationwide epidemic that must be stopped.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) has told the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate parents of transgender children who give them access to doctor-prescribed, gender-affirming medical care—which he calls “child abuse.” This abhorrent act ignores legitimate science on the matter and will in fact endanger children’s lives and well-being.
A new ad, “My Heroes,” shows the negative effect that Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill could have on children with same-sex parents.
A Florida Senate committee passed a bill this week that would quash discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in classrooms and could out LGBTQ students to parents. President Biden quickly condemned it and expressed his support for LGBTQI+ youth. Here’s what’s happening, and how you can help fight this bill, too.
The state of Michigan must continue contracting with child service agencies that discriminate against same-sex couples, according to the settlement this week of a long-running case whose outcome rested on a 2021 U.S. Supreme Court decision. The state’s Children’s Services Agency nevertheless reaffirmed its commitment to supporting LGBTQ people who want to foster or adopt or are already doing so.
A husband and wife in Tennessee are suing the state, saying that a state-funded foster care and adoption program turned them away because they are Jewish. To the best of my knowledge, neither is queer, so why am I writing about this on a queer website? Because discrimination in foster care and adoption is a very queer issue, and there is federal legislation pending that could end it for everyone, queer and otherwise.
Two queer couples and their children have become the first LGBTQ families to benefit from the Connecticut Parentage Act (CPA), which Connecticut Rep. Jeff Currey (D), the bill’s lead sponsor, said “may be the most impactful moment for LGBTQ families since marriage equality.”
