I wrote this back in November for 365gay.com, but never crossposted. A recent article in the Bangor Daily News, by Diane Schetky, clinical professor of psychiatry at the Maine Medical Center, reminded me about it. Schetky makes the same point that I did, which is that children are not necessarily harmed by growing up without […]
Many of you may have heard that openly lesbian Johanna Sigurdardottir was picked by Iceland’s Social Democratic Alliance Party to be the country’s next prime minister. The news gets even better, though: Johanna Sigurdardottir and her spouse Jonina Leosdottir, an author and playwright, have two adult sons (via Sigurdardottir’s previous marriage), making Sigurdardottir not only the
I wrote a letter to President-elect Obama with some thoughts about his upcoming presidency from my perspective as a lesbian mom. I can’t speak for all of us, but I hope some of my ideas find resonance. The letter also ran as my column in 365gay.com last week. I can’t crosspost it yet, but since
So hot off the presses, it’s still smoking . . . . This just in via Lambda Legal. A federal court judge has ordered the Louisiana State Registrar to recognize an out-of-state adoption by two gay dads, and issue a birth certificate recognizing both as parents. “This sends a strong message to state officials across
Nothing like a woman about to have a baby to spur people into action. New York State officials have been pondering the many ways they need to carry out Gov. David Paterson’s directive that state agencies respect out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples. New York residents Carolyn Trzeciak and Nina Sheldon Trzeciak, who married in Canada
The New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission has completed its final report. It found that the state’s civil union law “invites and encourages harm to same-sex couples and their children” and cites “overwhelming evidence” the civil union law will never provide equality with the passage of time. The entire 79-page report is quite a read.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman today declared Florida’s 30-year-old ban on adoption by gay men and lesbians unconstitutional, saying, “It is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person’s ability to parent.” ‘Bout time they realized that. State lawyers have already said they will challenge the decision. At the moment, however, it
(Originally published by Bay Windows, November 13, 2008.) Many are blaming the passage of California’s Prop 8 on black voters, 73 percent of whom supported the measure. People have, however, mostly ignored another group that voted in a significant majority for Prop 8: parents. Sixty-four percent of voters with children under 18 voted for it,
The Connecticut Supreme Court just ruled in favor of marriage equality for same-sex couples: Our conventional understanding of marriage must yield to a more contemporary appreciation of the rights entitled to constitutional protection. Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are
Hot off the presses: The good news keeps rolling in this week: The Arkansas Blog (from the Arkansas Times) reports that the state Department of Human Services will drop its rule that prohibits placement of foster children in homes with unmarried couples (and by definition, same-sex couples). “Instead, it will decide placement on a case
