We can talk about academic studies of how LGBT people are good parents—but such studies don’t replace personal stories like the one about the preschool son of Gabriel Blau and Dylan Stein, two gay dads in New York. The preschooler wanted to give the money in his piggy bank to those affected by Hurricane Sandy.
What a night. A president who supports LGBT equality and the right of women to control their own bodies. The first time voters have affirmed marriage equality at the ballot box—in Maryland, Maine, and Washington—and defeated an attempt to ban it—in Minnesota. Our first openly LGBT U.S. Senator, Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). Openly gay representatives Jared Polis (D-CO) and David Cicilline (D-RI) re-elected, joined by newcomers Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) and Mark Pocan (D-WI)—a record number of out members of Congress. A record number of women in the Senate. I had dared not dream of so many wins.
And yet.
Ten-year-old Sophia Bailey Klugh had one question for President Obama: “If you were me and had two dads that loved each other, and kids at school teased you about it, what would you do?” Yesterday, the President responded.
I’m having a feeling of déjà vu. Four years ago, I was waiting to see if Barack Obama would be elected president; waiting to see the outcome of a ballot measure in California that would decide the legality of marriage equality in that state; and baffled that a patron of a Colorado library had asked for the removal or reshelving of the children’s picture book Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, claiming it was “inappropriate for children” because it showed two anthropomorphic male guinea pigs getting married.
College student Brian Arsenault has two moms. He also lives in Maine, where voters will be voting next Tuesday on whether to allow same-sex couples like his parents to marry. In the video after the jump, Arsenault talks about the support his moms have given him over the years, and the example they have set for what a marital relationship should be.
Thinking about the possibility of Mitt Romney winning the election. . . thinking about the four states whose voters will decide on marriage equality. . . . thinking about the balance of power in Congress. Yes, I’m shivering, and it’s not because of the small ghouls and goblins who will be showing up at my door tonight.
October is LGBT History Month, so I want to celebrate with a look at some of the historical milestones—of laws, visibility, and community—related to LGBT parents. This is not meant to be a comprehensive look at the 40-year history of out LGBT parents, but simply a brief list of a few LGBT parenting “firsts.” These items may show only part of the story, but I hope they will give readers a sense of the rich history of which we are part.
A new study has shown that adopted children of same-sex parents are “significantly less” gender stereotyped in their play habits than adopted children of opposite-sex parents. That news is likely to be seen as a Bad Thing by many on the extreme right—but as the study notes, many scholars, parents, and educators today believe a more flexible attitude towards gender roles is less limiting to children’s development. Such openness may thus have psychological benefits—and that’s a Good Thing.
Here’s wishing safety to family and home for any of you in the path of Hurricane Sandy. We’re bracing for it here in Massachusetts—but I think those of you farther south will bear the brunt. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has produced a suggested Basic Disaster Supplies Kit that all families should keep on hand. LGBT families, however, should pay special attention to one item on the list.
When Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts, he refused to let the state’s Registry of Vital Records and Statistics revise its birth certificate forms to correctly show the legal parents of babies born to same-sex couples, the Boston Globe reports.
