Janson Wu, executive director of GLAD (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders), is leading one of the several LGBT legal organizations bringing marriage equality before the U.S. Supreme Court this spring. I asked him recently about the interplay among marriage equality, parental rights, and other issues that impact LGBT parents and our children, and about the past, present, and future of our movement.
As we all ride the waves of elation and joy from yesterday’s marriage equality victories, we lesbian moms can take extra pride in knowing that several of our own were among those leading the way. Prop 8 plaintiffs Kris Perry and Sandy Stier have four kids. And attorney Mary Bonauto, who has been called the “mastermind” of the DOMA repeal, has twins.
We lesbian moms sure have made our mark. The day after I posted about Roberta Achtenberg being selected as an LGBT History Month Icon, lawyer Mary Bonauto was named one as well. Bonauto is best known as the lead counsel in the historic case that won same-sex couples the right to marry in Massachusetts.
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) has just announced the publication of Transgender Family Law: A Guide to Effective Advocacy, “the first book to comprehensively address legal issues facing transgender people in the family law context and provide practitioners the tools to effectively represent transgender clients.”
If you’ve been following news about LGBT parents for any length of time, you’ve probably come across at least one, if not several, examples of custody cases in which a biological parent tries to deny custody to a former same-sex partner and non-biological parent, claiming that the latter is not really a parent to the
President Obama continued to avoid answering questions about his stance on marriage equality. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced plans to begin collecting health data on LGBT populations. Immigration officials canceled the deportation of a Venezuelan man living in New Jersey who is married to an American man. President Obama nominated Robert
Two pieces of LGBT parenting news from my town of Boston: On May 3, the Boston Public Garden’s famed swans return for the season. The birds, Romeo and Juliet, are in fact a pair of females who laid eggs and attempted to care for them together, as the Boston Globe reported, and I discussed, a few years back.
I often get e-mail from lesbian parents seeking legal advice for various matters: protecting both parents’ rights as they embark on parenthood; wanting advice in a custody or other dispute; wondering if their county/state will allow second-parent adoptions, and the like. I am not a lawyer, so I can’t offer advice myself, but I can
Personal Stories and Opinion Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) is running a weekly series of stories about families harmed by the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). There are lots of families with children among them. This week they showcase Paul and Bob Ruseau, gay dads in Massachusetts. Worth a look, if only
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen told a Senate committee he is in favor of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates said they have appointed a high-level working group to report, by the end of the year, on how the military can implement such a change if Congress
