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
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) introduced a transgender-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) into the U.S. Senate. Co-sponsors were Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Susan Collins (R-ME). The American Bar Association’s House of Delegates passed a resolution calling on Congress to repeal the section of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that denies federal marital benefits and
Yesterday, I posted a recent column in which I reviewed several new books and films for and about LGBT families. It turns out the conservative Massachusetts Family Institute, which took the lead fighting against marriage equality here in the Bay State, didn’t like it so much—or maybe they did. In their latest e-newsletter, they included
Sometimes I read something that is just so mind-blowingly irrational I don’t know where to begin. Robert P. George, in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece titled, “Gay Marriage, Democracy, and the Courts,” begins by stating that it would be “disastrous” for the U.S. Supreme Court justices to rule on a federal lawsuit that “has
A gunman opened fire at the basement location of the LGBT Tel Aviv Community Center on Saturday night, killing two and wounding 11 others. He remains at large. The Center was a haven for LGBT youth and their friends. The two who died were Nir Katz, 26, and Liz Trobishi, 16. Katz was gay and
President Obama named 16 recipients for this year’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. They include tennis and women’s rights legend Billie Jean King and LGBT-rights pioneer Harvey Milk, and very many other worthy people. I’m a bit disappointed not to see Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon on the list, but maybe next
Here’s a little piece of advice for families living in Washington, D.C.: The city recently passed laws recognizing same-sex couples who were married or legally partnered in a “substantially similar” way outside the District. HRC warns people, though that if you are already hitched and want to cover your spouse or partner through your employer’s
My friend Prof. Moss at The Two Body Solution, a blog about gender and popular culture, raises an interesting question: Now that politicians’ affairs have cheapened marriage and various mainstream media channels have effectively declared American marriage dead, are people more willing to open it up to same-sex couples? “Just like the country had to
In early June, the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Kathryn Kutil and Cheryl Hess, a lesbian couple who have been fostering an 18-month-old girl since shortly after she was born, can maintain custody and not turn the child over to an opposite-sex couple for adoption, as ordered by a lower court. Here’s my
Confused by the bevy of marriage-related lawsuits now in play? Lisa Keen at Bay Windows breaks it all down in a multi-part series. (Parts I and II are out; Part III will be next week.) Chris Geidner does a similar breakdown for federal hate crimes legislation. Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed the Defense Department authorization
