A divorce case playing out in Oklahoma offers a frightening reminder of why nonbiological/nongestational parents in same-sex couples need to get confirmatory adoptions, court orders, or equivalents, even if they are married and on their children’s birth certificates.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed a bill last week permitting religiously based discrimination in adoption and foster care, his third recent anti-LGBTQ law. At the end of March, he also signed two laws targeting transgender youth.
Massachusetts parentage laws are long out of date and exclude many children, particularly those with LGBTQ parents and/or de facto parents. The Massachusetts Parentage Act (MPA) would change that, but faces a deadline next week that means we must act now in urging legislators to move it forward.
The Alabama legislature passed bills yesterday making it a felony to provide gender-affirming care to trans youth, banning trans children in K-12 schools from using bathrooms aligned with their gender identities, and banning discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in K-12 classrooms.
Librarians, authors, and others are speaking out against a leading provider of school library software after it announced yesterday that it is considering an optional add-on that would help schools and librarians comply with new and pending legislation that requires parents be allowed to know of and control access to the books their children check out—which could out and endanger LGBTQ students.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has signed the state’s discriminatory ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill into law, prohibiting discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grades and restricting it to an undefined age-appropriateness in higher grades. The damage the bill could cause goes beyond just that, however.
Anti-LGBTQ groups have been trying to push the idea that anti-LGBTQ, and particularly anti-transgender, legislation is about protecting children and preserving parents’ rights. As a queer parent, I know that’s a load of bunk. For the Trans Week of Visibility and Action, therefore, here are some actions we can all take to counter the many legislative
U.S. District Court Judge Alison Nathan was confirmed this week by the Senate to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, making her the second LGBTQ woman and the first queer mom to become a federal appellate judge.
A Colorado Senate committee today unanimously passed a bill that would simplify the process for obtaining critical confirmatory (second-parent) adoptions and ensure same-sex parents have access to them—because as recent examples show, this isn’t always guaranteed.
I’m delighted to be part of a virtual panel on March 24th discussing the legal climate for queer and trans mothers, hosted by Our Family Coalition in partnership with the National Center for Lesbian Rights. I hope you’ll join us!
