“The only thing the State or anybody should be looking at, the best interests of the child and how he is loved.” —Florida Judge Maria Sampedro-Iglesia, in granting Vanessa Alenier’s petition to adopt an infant cousin, despite the state ban on gay men and lesbians adopting children (via Nancy Polikoff)
Parenting Studies “How Does the Gender of Parents Matter?” asks the lead article in this month’s Journal of Marriage and Family. The answer, from sociologists Timothy Biblarz of University of Southern California and Judith Stacey of New York University, is that it doesn’t, with the “partial exception of lactation.” The gender of parents “has minor
Here’s a quick roundup before everyone takes off for the holiday: Politics and Law Nancy Polikoff offers her expert analysis of the decision this week in the Jenkins-Miller custody case I mentioned Saturday. Nancy has read through the ruling (she’s a lawyer, and has access to this sort of thing before us mere mortals), and
Schools and Youth Yes, Iowa has marriage equality. They even have a safe schools law that requires inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the state’s Civil Rights Act and anti-bullying policies. Still, the Iowa Pride Network, in its 2009 School Climate Survey, found that more than half of the students surveyed (LGBT and
I’m spitting nails over this one: A U.S. District Court in Florida rejected a lawsuit by a lesbian mom who had been kept apart from her partner who lay dying in a Florida hospital. The couple’s three children were kept from her as well. In February 2007, Janice Langbehn and Lisa Pond boarded an R
Jane Castor, a 25-year veteran of the Tampa Police Department, out lesbian, and mother of two, has been named the department’s new chief. She will be the first woman to serve as chief of that city, and the first lesbian police chief statewide. The mainstream media is noting her significance as the first woman, but
Children and Gender Brett Berk rightly shreds the conclusions of a recent study on children and gender roles. Sassymonkey at BlogHer looks at the recurring question of why there aren’t more books for boys, and astutely asks, “Maybe the question isn’t about where the books for boys are but why boys need books about boys?
Politics and Law Amicus briefs are coming in to Florida’s third district court of appeal from LGBT and other civil-rights groups, in support of a circuit court decision that allowed a gay couple to adopt two brothers, effectively overturning the state’s ban on adoption by same-sex couples. Despite new legislation in Victoria, Australia, to allow
A little political news this week, hmm? I already covered some Prop 8 stories on Tuesday, but I’ll start with a few more, because I just can’t help myself: Alec Baldwin (yes, that Alec Baldwin) tells us Why Childless Straight Couples Make the Case for Gay Marriage. Hip-hop pioneer Russell Simmons adds to my collection
Via NCLR. My emphases: Today, the Florida Court of Appeals unanimously reversed a lower court ruling and held that Florida must give full faith and credit to adoptions granted to same-sex couples by other states, holding that Lara Embry, the plaintiff in the case, “must be given the same rights as any other adoptive parent
