Here’s a fascinating piece of LGBTQ parenting history that I wanted to share again for LGBTQ History Month: Did you know that in the 1970s, some social workers were quietly placing queer youth with queer foster parents, in defiance of state laws?
Juliet Howard and Norma Jennings were elected to New York state judgeships last November, becoming likely the first same-sex married couple in the state to simultaneously win judicial election. The women, who took office in recent weeks, have been together nearly 32 years and have two grown sons.
This roundup looks at further negative impacts of recent executive orders, but also at another lawsuit against them, the introduction of positive legislation in two states, and some celebrity moments of queer joy.
Never underestimate the power of protest. After public outrage and an imminent investigation by the state Division of Human Rights, a Long Island library board reversed its decision to remove Pride displays from its children’s sections. Displays will now stay up through at least July 15.
A public library board in New York has voted “to remove all Pride Displays, in addition to removing all books of the same subject on display, from all Children’s sections.” The president of the board, a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, opposed the action.
Did you know that in the 1970s, some social workers were quietly placing queer youth with queer foster parents, in defiance of state laws? They were “were creating something radical: state-supported queer families in an era of intense discrimination,” asserts a fascinating new article on the subject.
A few news items on queer parents that I haven’t covered elsewhere!
A new law is now in effect in the state of New York that not only legalizes gestational surrogacy but also simplifies and strengthens the legal recognition of nonbiological parents and single parents in families formed through assisted reproduction. Easy forms? No home study? Yes, please!
In a year like no other, LGBTQ families, like all others, struggled with the physical, mental, and economic challenges of the pandemic. And with children of LGBTQ parents much more likely to live in poverty than those with non-LGBTQ parents, the pandemic may have hit many LGBTQ families, like those of other marginalized groups, particularly hard. Pandemic aside, there were many political and legal challenges—and a few victories—directly related to LGBTQ parents and our children in the U.S. this year. Here are the highlights, good and bad.
Marriage equality has been the law nationwide since 2015, but married and unmarried LGBTQ couples who use third-party assisted reproductive technologies (ART) still face significant obstacles in most states to securing ironclad legal parentage for both parents. Progress in a few states, most recently in New England, may point the way forward.
