It’s tonight! Please join me from 9 to 10 p.m. EST. for a travel-focused Twitter party for LGBT families and friends. Over 600 people have preregistered for the event, and it should be a great evening of stories, tips, and fun.
If you haven’t yet registered for the travel-focused Twitter party for LGBT families on Wednesday, November 6, please do! You can just join in at 9 p.m. ET — but if you register first and then leave a tweet during the party (with the hashtags #TMOM and #RIFamily), you’ll be eligible to win one of two signed copies of Iron Chef and lesbian mom Cat Cora’s Classics with a Twist: Fresh Takes on Favorite Dishes cookbook, or the GRAND PRIZE: a Residence Inn gift card valued at $250.
I had high expectations for The Fosters when it debuted on ABC Family in June, the first mainstream drama to focus on same-sex parents and their kids. I’m happy to say it more than met those expectations, while also throwing in a few pleasant surprises. The show has meant a lot to me as a lesbian mom — and to many others as well. I therefore invite you to join me, the Family Equality Council, and GLAAD this week by tweeting about what the show has meant to you.
Yes, it’s Monday, but watch this inspiring video featuring adults with LGBT parents, and it just might get you through the day. (Then you can watch fictitious children with two moms on The Fosters tonight, and be cheered yet again.)
The Family Equality Council, PFLAG, and COLAGE are working on an LGBT family visibility project, covering 50 states with 50 family photos. They’re still in need of photos from families in a few more states: Mississippi, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Wyoming.
I’m delighted to announce a special bonus event in celebration of Blogging for LGBT Families Day this Monday, June 3. In addition to submitting a blog post to the master list that I will showcase Monday, please join the Family Equality Council and me for a Twitter townhall at 3 p.m. EST (12 p.m. PST)! Family Equality’s policy team will answer questions about recent marriage equality happenings and what the future could hold for our families if the Supreme Court strikes down DOMA.
This Sunday, May 5, marks the second annual International Family Equality Day, when LGBTQ family organizations from around the world will join forces to raise the visibility of our families. Over 40 cities around the world will be hosting events, including ones in the US, Europe, Canada, Japan, and Australia. Find out if there’s one near you!
Today is the 20th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), so it’s the perfect time to remind folks that FMLA allows people to take time off to care for a child (biological or adoptive) who is legally the child of a same-sex partner—that is, even if you are not on the child’s birth certificate or haven’t done a second-parent adoption. Here’s the story of two lesbian moms who used FMLA leave, despite having to be extra prepared to explain matters to their employer.
Twenty years ago, on February 5, 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act, allowing eligible employees to take time off to care for new children (biological or adopted) or family members with medical problems. The FMLA even allows employees to take time for a new child even if you are not the legal parent—but does not cover same-sex spouses or partners. The Family Equality Council is therefore collecting stories, good and bad, about how LGBT people have used—or been denied—FMLA. They want yours! Here’s how to submit your story.
Tired of the the Republicans’ anti-LGBT and anti-women platform? The Family Equality Council (FEC) has an alternative. The organization yesterday released its Family Platform, calling for “the full inclusion of all families, including families headed by LGBT people and same-sex couples, in the life of our nation.”
