I’m preempting my Weekly Political Roundup this week as our community grapples with the recent string of bullying-related suicides. Here’s Ellen on the subject—well worth watching if you haven’t yet. Afterwards, go check out columnist Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better” project, a collection of YouTube videos with messages of hope for LGBTQ youth. May we […]
Back-to-school time is upon us once again. We LGBT parents with kids in school are busy buying pencils and notebooks, rulers and knapsacks. We’re not that different from any others.
Let’s start the week with a roundup. Politics and Law Iceland’s Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir and her partner, Jonina Leosdottir, transformed their civil union into a marriage Sunday as the country’s marriage equality law went into effect. Sigurdardottir has two grown sons from a previous marriage. A Wisconsin appeals court ruled that a woman seeking
Politics and Law Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) introduced the Student Nondiscrimination Act, a companion to a House bill by Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO). It would prohibit discrimination on the basis of real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity in any program or activity receiving federal funds. “Discrimination” would include harassment. Already, some are saying
What happened to the ENDA vote Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) said would happen this week? Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) now says she hopes it will happen in the next couple of weeks. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a House committee that Congress should not pass its own repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell before he
(No vlog this week. Helen’s been away on a business trip, and it’s too hard to sit there talking to myself.) Faith In an essay for Commonweal magazine, an anonymous lesbian mom discusses her Catholic faith, her and her partner’s decision to send their children to Catholic school, and the welcome they received there, in
Several federal departments under President Obama have made moves to benefit the LGBT community, but the Department of Education has done little. This is despite growing evidence that LGBT youth are among those most at risk and that safe-schools programs benefit all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. I’ve explored this issue in
Go read “Beyond the straight and narrow” by Australian lesbian mom Jaqueline Tomlins, about how she and her seven-year-old handled schoolyard teasing about their family. It’s one of the most thoughtful pieces on the topic that I’ve read—and I’ve read quite a few. (Written some myself, in fact.) Happy Monday!
Schools and Youth The ACLU and and Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition are advocating on behalf of a Mississippi high school student who wants to go to the prom with her girlfriend. School officials have said she may not arrive with her girlfriend or wear a tux, and must leave if other students become “uncomfortable.” A
Today kicks off No-Name Calling Week, “an annual week of educational activities aimed at ending name-calling of all kinds and providing schools with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to eliminate bullying in their communities.” The event is organized by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), in partnership
