A group of patrons has asked for LGBTQ-inclusive children’s books to be removed from the children’s section of a Louisiana public library and made available for checkout only by adults. The library board is set to discuss the matter this afternoon.
I’m spending the week at Netroots Nation, the largest annual conference for progressives, and kicking things off with a pre-conference day of LGBTQ organizing, thanks to Netroots Connect. If you’ll be there, too, please leave a comment, or just say hi if you see me! If not, stay tuned here for updates.
My further thoughts on some of the latest marriage equality rulings, originally published in my Mombian newspaper column.
It just keeps getting better. Yesterday saw marriage equality victories in Indiana and Utah (and hopeful news out of Louisiana). Once again, the well-being of children played a large part in the rulings.
[Updated again: Now with Alabama and Virginia!] Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, and Texas all had positive news about marriage equality yesterday. Let’s round it all up. (I know: Nevada isn’t really part of the south, but it’s south of where I am, so grant me some poetic license here.)
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last night that two gay men did not have the right to a reissued birth certificate for the Louisiana-born child they adopted in New York—a birth certificate that would have listed them both as parents (and a common practice for adoptive families). The state had denied the fathers
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
Politics and Law A Vermont family court judge issued a warrant for the arrest of Lisa Miller, an “ex-lesbian” who disappeared with the girl who is legally the child of her and her former civil union partner, Janet Jenkins. A bit of good news to follow up on a case I posted about last June,
Court Cases The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today to uphold a lower-court ruling and demand the Louisiana Registrar of Vital Statistics respect a New York adoption by a same-sex couple of a Louisiana-born baby boy. Lambda Legal represented gay dads Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith in their quest to have Louisiana issue
Appalling. Ignorant and appalling. Keith Bardwell, a Louisiana justice of the peace, has refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple, citing concerns about the effect on any children. The AP, via NPR, reports: Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came
