Good news: The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear the case of “ex-lesbian” mom Lisa Miller, letting stand a ruling that Virginia must enforce a Vermont court order awarding child-visitation rights to Miller’s former civil-union partner Janet Jenkins. This is the same case that Newsweek covered this week as well. Best wishes to six-year-old […]
In my latest article for 365gay.com, I discuss the Florida adoption ruling and the sometimes fuzzy connections between parental rights and marriage rights. If you’re following the Florida case, you might also be interested in the video that the ACLU made about the plaintiff family. After the jump:
It’s been a weekend of protests for the LGBT community. The New York Times, among other places covered them, as did most LGBT news channels. Pick your favorite; I won’t list them all here. Instead, I’m going to highlight the interview that actor and lesbian mom Cynthia Nixon did on Friday with Joy Behar, who
Good news: The U.S. Supreme Court today refused to hear a case “that would have had far-reaching implications for lesbians and single women choosing to bear children,” according to law professor Nancy Polikoff, author of Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing All Families under the Law. The case involves a Kansas woman whose sperm donor
The Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled this week that adoptions by stepparents are allowed only when the stepparent is married to the child’s biological parent. In a catch-22, same-sex stepparents cannot therefore adopt because Kentucky has a constitutional amendment banning marriage of same-sex couples. The ruling holds regardless of whether the person was involved in
(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.
The U.S. Department of Justice ruled Tuesday that the Social Security Administration must recognize the children of same-sex couples, including their relationship with non-biological parents, even though the federal Defense of Marriage Act prevents the government from recognizing or providing benefits to those couples. The opinion was offered in the case of a minor child
The Virginia Supreme Court ruled today that the state must enforce a Vermont court order awarding child-visitation rights to Janet Jenkins, a non-biological lesbian mom locked in a custody battle with her former partner, Lisa Miller. The Court rejected Miller’s claim that Virginia law and a state constitutional amendment against same-sex unions (including ones from
First, let’s revisit some good news about parental rights: Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) is the New England LGBT legal organization best known for its leading role in achieving marriage equality for same-sex couples in Massachusetts. Mary Bonauto, Civil Rights Project Director for GLAD, was also lead counsel in Goodridge v. Dept. of
This just in from Clare of When Do We Get the Toaster: Non-biological lesbian moms in New South Wales, Australia, will now have equal parenting rights and responsibilities under the law. The move brings NSW in line with Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory, as well as New Zealand and Canada.
