Weekly Political Roundup: A New York State of Mind
No big roundup this week. As with many of you, I’m busy watching the marriage equality happenings in New York tonight. Stay tuned. [10:45 p.m. ET: A wee update, from my piece for Keen News Service.]
Politics and Law
Same-Sex Parents: More than a Boom
Data from Census 2010 is slowly rolling in, state by state, and so far, it looks like about one quarter of same-sex couples are raising children, in states as diverse as Alabama, California, Hawaii, and Wyoming. The diligent demographers at the Williams Institute of UCLA are doing the analysis; they have yet to release breakdowns
Weekly Political Roundup
The Senate Armed Services Committee passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act without any of the anti-LGBT amendments that the House passed in its version—including one that would have delayed repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The Senate bill would also repeal the military’s long-standing anti-sodomy regulation. The U.S. Department of Health and
Weekly Political Roundup
It was a week full of mostly national news: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance to state Medicaid agencies to clarify “that they are able to offer same-sex couples many of the same financial and asset protections available to opposite-sex couples when a partner is entering a nursing home or care
Lesbian Moms Sue School Over Alleged Bullying of Daughter
A lesbian couple in Albuquerque is filing a discrimination lawsuit against Rio Rancho Public Schools, claiming their daughter was harassed and bullied in fifth grade—including by the teacher—because she has two moms. According to KOB Eyewitness News 4, when the girl wrote an essay about her moms getting married in Iowa, the teacher “said that
Speaking Up for Same-Sex Parents in Texas
ABC News’ “What Would You Do?” series recently set up a hidden camera scenario in a diner near Dallas, Texas, in which an actor pretending to be a homophobic waitress harassed two lesbian moms and their children, and then two gay dads and their children (all also played by actors). Several patrons, to their credit,
Weekly Political Roundup
A Gallup poll finds what an earlier Washington Post/ABC News poll did: a majority of Americans now support marriage for same-sex couples. The Connecticut House passed a bill that would bar discrimination based on gender identity or expression in employment, housing, and public accommodations (including restrooms). New York state senator Martin Golden introduced a bill
Weekly Political Roundup
The U.S. House Armed Services Committee approved three amendments that would delay implementation of the repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Air Force Major Margaret Witt, who was discharged in 2003 under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, will receive full retirement, the government will drop its appeal against her, and the discharge will
Weekly Political Roundup
The law firm hired to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) has withdrawn from its contract to do so, but the lawyer who was to take the case has left the firm and plans to defend it from elsewhere. On the other hand, the Senate committee considering a bill to repeal DOMA may just
Weekly Political Roundup
Because today is the Day of Silence, an annual observance to raise awareness of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment, I’ll point out my piece over at Keen News Service on court cases sparked by the event. The Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) and the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) (which would allow people to sponsor same-sex partners