Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finally announced her support for marriage equality yesterday in a video for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). She not only cited her experience fighting for LGBT rights around the world, but also commented, “Like so many others, my personal views have been shaped over time, by people I have known and loved” —including her daughter, Chelsea.
The Colorado House followed the state Senate yesterday in passing a civil unions bill, which the governor has said he will sign. An AP photo of lesbian moms Fran and Anna Simon tops the CBS News report on the occasion; and a photo of the Simons and their son is part of this gallery at HuffPo.
Great news out of Kansas this afternoon. In a case involving two lesbian moms, the state Supreme Court ruled that a non-biological mother may be recognized as a parent under the law.
Wow. I take a New Year’s vacation with my family for a few days (about which more later), and look what happens: The first baby born in France in 2013 has lesbian moms.
Congratulations to all of the same-sex couples in Washington State who will be able to get marriage licenses starting today. In several counties (including the most populous, King County), the first to do so will be lesbian moms.
What a night. A president who supports LGBT equality and the right of women to control their own bodies. The first time voters have affirmed marriage equality at the ballot box—in Maryland, Maine, and Washington—and defeated an attempt to ban it—in Minnesota. Our first openly LGBT U.S. Senator, Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). Openly gay representatives Jared Polis (D-CO) and David Cicilline (D-RI) re-elected, joined by newcomers Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) and Mark Pocan (D-WI)—a record number of out members of Congress. A record number of women in the Senate. I had dared not dream of so many wins.
And yet.
Thanks to the leadership of the Family Equality Council, federal employees may now extend medical coverage to children who are legally those of their same-sex domestic partner. Domestic partnership requires a simple declaration; it is not necessary to live where there is a formal DP registry or other formal relationship recognition.
A new California bill would allow a child to have more than two legal parents, including two lesbian moms and their sperm donor. This may be new for the U.S., but one Canadian province is already leading here.
The Boy Scouts may be shining a flashlight into a tent they would prefer remains dark. In April they ejected Ohio mother Jennifer Tyrrell from her position as leader of her son’s Cub Scout den, simply because she is a lesbian. In doing so, however, they turned a light on the impact of their policy, and helped show that the real victims are children like Tyrrell’s seven-year-old.
Looks like President Obama’s statement in support of marriage equality is already having an effect. His campaign has updated an earlier blog post and now refers to two lesbian moms as “married.”
