Servicemembers Legal Defense Network released a legal guide for “LGBT service members, veterans, future recruits, and their families,” with an overview of laws and policies related to military service following the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. It includes quite a bit of information related to benefits for children of servicemembers, as well as benefits […]
Forgive me one more story of same-sex couples in New York, but I like the perspective of this one from the New York Daily News, by a man who grew up in New York in the 1980s and 90s with a lesbian mother. Author Matt Borden writes, “Everyone knew that gay people didn’t have children. They
One more nice story of same-sex parents getting married in New York: Jo-Ann Shain and Mary Jo Kennedy were among the plaintiffs in the 2004-5 marriage equality case Hernandez v. Robles. They won in a lower court before the ruling was overturned by the state Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court. They finally married last
Lesbian moms and grandmoms Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd were among the first same-sex couples to marry in New York on Sunday, the first day they could legally do so. While there is some debate over which same-sex couple was actually the first to marry, it’s rather an irrelevant question destined for the trivia books. The
The biggest news this week? Don’t ask. No, really. President Obama has certified that the requirements for repealing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ban on openly lesbian and gay servicemembers have been met. The ban will end September 20. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held the first-ever hearing on repeal of the Defense of Marriage
As always, parenting/youth related news will show up in my separate LGBT Parenting Roundup. Here are some of the top general LGBT news stories of the week. It’s been a period of ups and downs for Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, as the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday granted an emergency order temporarily
New York enacted marriage equality on June 24. Here’s a short video by the Family Equality Council showing the responses of some LGBT parents and their children. If you are considering getting married in the Empire State, you might want to check out this list of Frequently Asked Questions from Lambda Legal.
No big roundup this week. As with many of you, I’m busy watching the marriage equality happenings in New York tonight. Stay tuned. [10:45 p.m. ET: A wee update, from my piece for Keen News Service.]
The Senate Armed Services Committee passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act without any of the anti-LGBT amendments that the House passed in its version—including one that would have delayed repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The Senate bill would also repeal the military’s long-standing anti-sodomy regulation. The U.S. Department of Health and
New York’s highest court ruled this week in a custody case that gave a non-biological mom the right to seek custody and visitation of the child she and her former partner had created and raised together. Great, right? Yes, for that one mom. But the court said the non-biological mother only had that right because
