LGBT Parenting Roundup
Lots of good stuff this week, including some great personal stories as well as much-needed research on LGBT families of color. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
family equality
U.S. Customs to Allow Same-Sex Couples to File Joint Customs Declarations
Many of us have been in this situation: Returning to the U.S. from a family vacation abroad, we stand in the customs line with partner and kid(s), only to be separated when it is our turn and the customs agent only allows “one family at a time”—meaning “only one federally recognized family.” Suddenly, all of our vacation relaxation is gone.
That will soon change.
Campaign Aims to End Exclusion of Same-Sex Parents from Forms
Scratching out “Father” and writing in “Mother” is an all-too common experience for coupled lesbian moms (vice versa for gay dads). Now, the Family Equality Council (FEC) hopes to draw attention to the many forms that still exclude our families. Their “Snap It & Send It” campaign asks people to take photos or scans of non-inclusive forms and send them to fo***@************ty.org, along with notes about how the forms are impacting their family.
Hot Off the Presses: New Toolkit for LGBT Family Support Groups
One of the strengths of the LGBT parenting community is that we are a community. Whether online or in real life, we can share, support, and learn from each other. In order to help LGBT families connect with each other, the Family Equality Council today released “Promising Practices,” a toolkit to help those who wish to create new LGBT family support groups, and to help strengthen existing ones.
Discrimination Means Children with LGBT Parents May Face Extra Economic Hardships
There’s a myth that LGBT parents are all affluent—a myth perpetuated by many in the media, who tend to focus on upper-middle and upper class families when they do LGBT family stories. The reality is much different. Children being raised by same-sex couples are in fact twice as likely to live in poverty as those being
Family Equality Council Launches New Web Site for LGBT Parents
The Family Equality Council, which “connects, supports, and represents the one million lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender parents in this country and the two million children they are raising,” has launched a new Web site. The redesigned site has all kinds of resources for LGBT parents, including one of my favorites, an interactive map of
Blogging for Adoption: There Are No “Alternative” Families
The Family Equality Council is holding a “Blogging Adoption” day today in honor of National Adoption Month. I’ve written a lot about adoption lately—some great new resources have just come out, including a book looking at recent research on adoption by lesbians and gay men, edited by David Brodzinsky and Adam Pertman of the Evan
Blog for Adoption November 21
Passing this along from Steve Majors, director of communications at the Family Equality Council. Looking forward to reading your posts! On Monday, Nov. 21, we are inviting you to Blog Adoption. As you may know, November is National Adoption Month and we are working to raise awareness about the obstacles LGBT families face in opening
New Report Shows Inequalities for Children with LGBT Parents
A major new report, “All Children Matter: How Legal and Social Inequalities Hurt LGBT Families” (PDF), was released today by the Center for American Progress, the Family Equality Council, and the Movement Advancement Project, in partnership with COLAGE, The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, and the National Association of Social Workers (with a foreword by the Child Welfare League of
First Openly LGBT Parent in Congress
Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) and his partner Marlon Reis welcomed their son Caspian Julius into the world today, making Polis the first openly LGBT parent in Congress. Congratulations to the family. Thanks to Family Equality for the heads up. (Click their link for a photo.)