Politics and Law Archives - Page 14 of 194

Michigan Reaffirms Support for LGBTQ Families Even as Legal Settlement Allows Discrimination in Foster Care and Adoption

January 26, 2022

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.

Jewish Couple Sues Tennessee for Discrimination in Adoption (and Why All Queer People Should Care)

January 21, 2022

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.

The Ocasio-Gonzalez family at the AOP signing. Photo credit: Susan Symonds, Infinity Portrait Design

The First Queer Families to Benefit from Connecticut’s New, Comprehensive Parentage Law

January 4, 2022

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.”

Looking Ahead to 2022 for LGBTQ Families

LGBTQ Families in 2022: “Creating the Kind of World We Want for Our Children”

December 30, 2021

In my recent “2021 Year in Review for LGBTQ Families,” I looked at what experts at some of the leading organizations fighting for LGBTQ families thought were the biggest wins and setbacks for our families in the past year. Now, they share what they see as our key legal and political goals for 2022 and what we must do to achieve them.

All EU Nations Must Recognize Relationships Between Same-Sex Parents and Their Children, Top Court Rules

December 20, 2021

The top court of the European Union (EU) has ruled that if one EU member nation recognizes the relationship between a child and its same-sex parents, all member nations must do so, in order to guarantee the child’s right to freedom of movement.

“Changing the Landscape”: A 2021 Year in Review for LGBTQ Families

December 16, 2021

With 2021 drawing to a close, I asked experts at some of the leading organizations fighting for LGBTQ families what they thought were the key legal and political wins—and losses—for LGBTQ parents and our children over the past year. Here’s what they told me.

Why November 18 Is a Very Queer Day

November 18, 2021

November 18th marks three very queer events: the ruling that made Massachusetts the first U.S. state to have marriage equality; the repeal of the anti-LGBTQ Section 28 law in England and Wales; and (of less broad significance) the “Massaversary” of when my spouse and I legally wed after 13 years together.

LGBTQ Parents, Children, and Others Testify on Impact of Outdated Parentage Laws

November 11, 2021

Queer parents, their children, LGBTQ and children’s rights advocates, and others told Massachusetts legislators Tuesday about the negative impact that the state’s outdated parentage laws have on people’s lives, and called for the state to update its statutes so that all children, including those born to LGBTQ parents, have equal access to legal parentage.

Spain Extends Free Fertility Treatment to LBT People and Single Women

November 9, 2021

Spain’s health minister has extended the country’s free fertility treatments to single women, lesbian and bisexual women, and transgender people who can become pregnant.

Queer Mom and Partner Killed Defending Daughter During Mass Shooting

November 8, 2021

(Content warning for extreme violence.) A woman and her partner were killed in Norfolk, Virginia, last week, as they sought to defend one woman’s 19-year-old daughter from her boyfriend. One other woman was killed and two others, including the pregnant daughter, were injured.