Michigan House Committee Passes Bills to Deny Children Homes

Michigan has 14,000 children in foster care at any moment, over 5,000 of whom need homes because their biological parents’ rights have been terminated. A Michigan House committee, however, has passed two bills out of committee that would allow adoption agencies to deny an adoption placement based on the agency’s moral or religious beliefs. While agencies could use that to deny placements with many people, it’s pretty clear the main targets are LGBT people.

Rabbi and Lesbian Mom Marks 20th Anniversary at NYC LGBT Congregation

Hanukkah starts this weekend, which means my yearly request to my spouse that we celebrate our combined traditions by buying one of those plastic Santa-and-sleigh lawn ornaments and making the reindeer noses all light up over eight nights. (Rudolph himself, of course, would be the shamash.) Timely, then, is this video from Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, senior rabbi at the largest LGBT congregation in the world, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York City—and also a lesbian mom.

Happy 92nd Birthday to PFLAG’s Jeanne Manford

Forty years ago, Jeanne Manford wrote to the New York Post, angry that city police had done nothing to prevent her son Morty from being assaulted during a gay rights march. “My son is a homosexual, and I love him,” she asserted—after which her son told her, “No mother has ever announced to the world her son is gay.” The next year, at the urging of members of the gay and lesbian community, she founded the organization that would become PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). Manford turned 92 today. PFLAG is encouraging people to send her their best wishes.

Post of the Week: “Non-Biological Perspective”

New mom A wrote this week at Two Mothers McGill about her “Non-Biological Perspective” before, during, and after the birth of her daughter with partner T. She gives voices to feelings I’ve heard from many nonbio moms—worrying if she will bond with their child, being hurt by others’ comments about how much the baby is like her partner, thinking about when their daughter will someday meet her donor. Even if you’ve experienced or read about similar sentiments before, however, you should go read her post for the eloquence with which she expresses them.

Transgender Parents Share Thoughts in New Film

Have 10 minutes? Then check out Transforming Family, a short new documentary that “jumps directly into an ongoing conversation among trans people about parenting.” I found I learned new things specific to trans parents’ experiences, but also found much to reflect on simply because all LGBT parents in some way love and/or live across traditional gender lines.

AIDS Ribbon

World AIDS Day: Remembering the Children

Today is World AIDS Day once again—and while Secretary of State Hilary Clinton may have a vision for an “AIDS-free generation,” HIV/AIDS continues to devastate lives and communities around the world. Since so many other LGBT sites are ably covering how it impacts the LGBT community, I want to instead once again highlight some recent statistics about HIV/AIDS and children.

Nevada Marriage Ruling Insults All “Non-Traditional” Families

He probably doesn’t know it’s National Adoption Month. But when U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Jones ruled that Nevada’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples did not violate the U.S. Constitution, he insulted not only same-sex couples, but also adoptive and single-parent families.

LGBTQ Parenting Roundup

LGBT Parenting Roundup

Let’s round it up, folks. Here’s what’s been happening while I was busy cooking and stuffing myself on turkey and pie this past week or so. (I’m Jewish; I take this whole “eight-day holiday” thing seriously.)

New Film Gives “A Child’s Eye View” of Same-Sex Families

Award-winning Australian filmmaker Maya Newell has lesbian moms, and wants to show people what it’s like growing up with same-sex parents. She is now raising funds to complete Gayby Baby, “a child’s eye view of our newest breed of family.” Watch a promotional video after the jump.

Melissa Harris-Perry Looks at the American Family

I love me some Melissa Harris-Perry, the MSNBC host, author, and Tulane University professor. This past Saturday, I came to love her even more for the lengthy segment she did on “The American Family.” She and her guests discuss families headed by same-sex couples—but Harris-Perry smartly sees our families as only one part of a larger picture that includes single parents, adoptive parents, and other forms of family that differ from the traditional married, opposite-sex parents raising their own biological children. She also looks at how conceptions of family intersect with issues of politics, race, class, and economics—going all the way back to the days of slavery. It’s a lovely broad view and well worth watching in full.

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