Johanna Sigurdardottir, the prime minister of Iceland and a lesbian mom, was just named to Forbes annual list of the world’s 100 Most Powerful Women. She comes in at number 75, which seems quite respectable, considering she only became prime minister this year. Sigurdardottir and her spouse, author and playwright Jonina Leosdottir, have two adult
A very many congratulations to Mayor E. Denise Simmons of Cambridge, Mass., and her partner Mattie B. Hayes, who will wed on August 30. Mayor Simmons is the country’s first out, lesbian, African American mayor. She is also the mother of four and grandmother of three, and is raising her grandchildren. I’m thinking I could
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division hired Matt Nosanchuk, a former Senate staffer and advisor to Barack Obama’s campaign, as a senior counselor who will serve as a representative to the LGBT community. Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) voted to lift its ban on noncelibate lesbian and gay pastors and to
Diane Silver’s piece “Children suffer when the religious right wins,” in the Gay and Lesbian Times is worth a read. She writes of the relief she felt when her son Tony turned 18, relief in knowing no one could take him away from her. She is Tony’s non-biological mom, and almost lost him to her
Politics and Law The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled to preserve an adoption by the state’s only openly gay or lesbian legislator. Sen. Julia Boseman’s (D-New Hanover) former partner, Melissa Jarrell, the biological mother, was trying to deny Boseman’s parental rights, although a separate court had earlier approved the couple’s request for Boseman’s second-parent
The Department of Justice today filed its reply brief in Smelt v. United States, one of the legal challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act. Things look cautiously promising: With respect to the merits, this Administration does not support DOMA as a matter of policy, believes that it is discriminatory, and supports its repeal. Consistent
Former President Bill Clinton spoke at the progressive conference Netroots Nation. Blogger Lane Hudson confronted him on DADT and DOMA. Hudson explains why. The Anchorage Assembly approved an ordinance that bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, credit, public accommodations, and housing. It includes exemptions for churches and other
Washington, D.C. isn’t the only part of the Mid-Atlantic region to pass groundbreaking parentage legislation of late. The Delaware legislature recently passed a statute creating de facto parent status when the de facto parent: Has had the support and consent of the child’s parent or parents who fostered the formation and establishment of a parent-like
Personal Stories Nina at Queercents discusses the various factors she and her spouse are weighing as they consider whether to have a second child. Schools and Education A federal judge ruled that the Gay-Straight Alliance at Florida’s Yulee High School can meet on campus, with the same privileges as other student groups, and does not
President Obama has just launched a National Fatherhood Tour, led by 27-year-old Pentecostal pastor Joshua DuBois, head of the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. DuBois (who is not a father himself) explains to NPR: “[Obama] grew up without a dad in his own home, but he also saw the impact of father absence when
