In June, I was happy to relate the news that two pioneers of the lesbian- and LGBT-rights movements, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, would be the first same-sex couple to marry legally in San Francisco. Today, I am saddened by the news of Martin’s death. She and Lyon had celebrated over 50 years together.
It’s convention season here in the U.S. The Democrats are having a party this week, with the Republicans to follow. I haven’t been covering the blow-by-blow, since the LGBT bloggers at Bilerico and Pam’s House Blend have been doing so with gusto, and with people actually at the convention to report first hand. Bay Windows
(Originally published in Bay Windows (PDF link), July 24, 2008) For many same-sex couples, one of the primary motivations for getting married is to gain legal protections for our children. Nancy Polikoff, professor of law at American University Washington College of Law, cautions us, however, that we should not tie parenthood and marriage too tightly.
A Zogby Poll found that more than six in 10 U.S. voters say they could support an openly gay candidate for president of the U.S. U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), chair of the House Financial Services Committee, is looking into a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) policy that disqualifies domestic partners from receiving coverage available
“Where would an openly gay or lesbian, bisexual or transgender appointee or elected official make the most difference during the next administration?” That’s the question the folks at Logo’s 365gay News posed to me and a number of others, including GLSEN director Kevin Jennings, former GLAAD director Joan Garry, former and current HRC directors Elizabeth
Lest you think I’ve become entirely obsessed with the Olympics (almost, but not quite), here’s a roundup of what’s happening in LGBT parenting news: The California Supreme Court ruled today that a group of doctors cannot use their religion as a legal excuse for denying a lesbian patient infertility treatment. Lambda Legal reports, “In a
A few weeks ago I reported on the first challenge to Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, a children’s book featuring two gay guinea pigs who marry. Today, library director James LaRue, who wrote a sensitive, balanced response to the initial challenge, reports that a second patron has challenged the book and asked for its removal from the
Many LGBT advocates are praising this year’s Democratic platform (not yet public) as “the most progressive major party platform with respect to LGBT issues in the nation’s history.” Some complaint that it never uses the terms “gay,” “lesbian,” “bisexual,” and “transgender,” but others argue that terms such as “same-sex couples” “sexual orientation,” and “gender identity”
A few interesting features from round and about: From The Walrus magazine in Canada comes “Frontier Families: The Complexities of Queer Parenting,” by Matthew Hays, who wrote the article after two lesbian friends of his first considered and then rejected him as a sperm donor. He turns this rejection into a broad, balanced article about
Entrepreneur Jared Polis could become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Congress as a non-incumbent, according to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. He won the Democratic primary last night in Colorado’s “overwhelmingly Democratic” 2nd Congressional District, and the Victory Fund says he is “nearly certain to win the seat in November.”
