Weekly Political Roundup

• U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill to amend the Fair Housing Act to ban housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
• The commissioners of Kissimmee, Florida voted to allow city employees to cover their unmarried domestic partners under the city’s health and dental insurance plan.
• The Oklahoma state Senate approved an amendment to opt out of federal hate crimes protections for LGBT people. The measure now heads to the House for consideration. (Oklahoma, you may recall, had a law prohibiting the state from recognizing adoptions by same-sex couples from other states and countries, until a federal judge struck it down in 2006.) Read the rest of this post »

“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 101

Helen and I bring you the Nature Edition of our vlog this week, with a look at what we’ve been doing outdoors with our son as the weather turns slightly warmer. This leads us to a discussion of science, education policy, and what happens when life imitates video games.

(If the embedded video above doesn’t work for you, try it at Dailymotion.)

Brought to you in partnership with After Ellen.

This Is What Happens When Kids Learn About Same-Sex Marriage

Confused? Traumatized? Not a bit.

[Update: It seems the video's owner has made it private. I'm not going to try and find another copy; if he wants privacy, I'll respect that.]

(Via Truth Wins Out.)

LGBT Parenting Roundup

Schools and Youth

• The ACLU and and Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition are advocating on behalf of a Mississippi high school student who wants to go to the prom with her girlfriend. School officials have said she may not arrive with her girlfriend or wear a tux, and must leave if other students become “uncomfortable.”
• A Catholic preschool in Boulder, Colorado has told a lesbian couple their child cannot return to the school next year because their sexual orientation is against Catholic teaching and school policy.
• The Washington State senate passed an LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying bill. It now goes to Gov. Christine Gregoire, who has said she will sign it. Read the rest of this post »

Can Same-Sex Parents Get a Break on College Financial Aid?

Same-sex parents are used to the routine of crossing out “Mother” or “Father” on various forms and writing in whatever applies to our family. What happens, however, when this is asked on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, used by most colleges and universities to determine a student’s contribution towards the cost of his/her education? Can we fill in the form literally and thus not count one parent’s earnings (meaning potentially more aid)?

That’s the question my spouse Helen asked over at her blog. I’ll let you pop over there for her thoughts on the subject.

Happy International Women’s Day

It’s International Women’s Day, a holiday first celebrated in 1909 in honor of a 1908 strike by women garment workers in protest at their working conditions. Now, it’s a holiday endorsed by the U.N., which has set the 2010 theme as “Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all.”

While the holiday gets little attention in the U.S., people in other areas of the world whoop it up, as evidenced by the many events listed on this slightly more commercial International Women’s Day site. (There are 238 events IWD events listed for the U.K., but only 124 in the U.S..)

I’m all about celebrating women here at Mombian, though, so here’s a topic for discussion today:

How has either being a mother or being LGBT changed your awareness and/or involvement in women’s rights and issues?

Florida “Family-Friendly” Film Tax Credit Would Exclude Movies with Gay Families

Watching the Oscars tonight? Here’s some filmmaking news that will have you seething:

Florida lawmakers are considering an incentive package to attract film and entertainment jobs to the state.  Productions with “nontraditional family values,” however, would be ineligible.  State Rep. Stephen Precourt (R-Orlando), who introduced the bill, said that films depicting gay families should not get the tax credit, reports the Palm Beach Post.

Gov. Charlie Crist agreed, defining “traditional” families as those with a married man and woman. (Someone should tell him that according to the 2000 U.S. Census, less than 25% of all families in the U.S. consist of a married, opposite-sex couple living with their own (biological or adopted) children.)

The bill (HB 697) was approved unanimously last week in the House Economic Development Policy Committee, and is apparently a priority for Republicans as part of their promise to create jobs.

Not everyone who wants to limit the tax credit to “family-friendly” films agrees with Precourt about the definition of family values. Some say that limiting the tax credit to “G-rated” films is enough. It is also unclear whether the language about “nontraditional family values” would make it through the state Senate version of the bill. Still, this type of thing sets my teeth on edge.

After the jump, the relevant section of the legislation. “Nontraditional family values” are lumped in with smoking, sex, nudity, gratuitous violence, and vulgar or profane language. There go my hopes of selling a screenplay that’s a sort of Heather Has Two Mommies meets Pulp Fiction. Read the rest of this post »

Weekly Political Roundup

First, an opportunity: The Bilerico Project and PFLAG have partnered to provide funding for unemployed LGBT people to go to Washington, D.C. on March 16 and lobby on behalf of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Details are here.

• Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and 11 Democratic cosponsors introduced a bill to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee held hearings on the policy Wednesday.
• Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) called for an end to the ban on blood donation by gay men.
• An unknown senator or senators have put a hold on the nomination of lesbian law professor Chai Feldblum to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Read the rest of this post »

“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 100

Helen and I take an Olympian approach to our 100th vlog. After watching the Olympics non-stop for two weeks, we bring you the “Top Ten Reasons Parenting Is Like the Olympics” (and not just because it’s like sliding down an icy track at 90 miles per hour).

(If the embedded video above doesn’t work for you, try it at Dailymotion.)

Brought to you in partnership with After Ellen.

LGBT Parenting Roundup

Books and Media

• Since books form an important part of the parenting experience for many of us (and many of us were voracious readers before we became parents), go check out the Lambda Literary Foundation’s brand-new Web site, chock-full of goodness about books for adults and kids.
• Life & Style magazine’s latest cover headline asks, “Why Is Angelina Turning Shiloh Into a Boy?” Apparently it’s because Shiloh has a short haircut and a penchant for boy’s clothes. Yes, it’s a clueless article. It’s gets worse, though. The magazine also quotes an “expert” from arch-conservative group Focus on the Family on how this could harm the child. Dorothy Snarker takes them to task in her inimitable style, so I’ll refer you to her for the dressing-down they deserve.

Politics and Law

• Lake Worth, Florida city commissioners agreed to support a repeal of the state’s ban on adoption by gay men and lesbians, in a show of support for bills filed to repeal the law.
• Nancy Polikoff has further details on the long-running Janet Jenkins-Lisa Miller custody case. Not only did a Vermont family court issue a warrant for Miller’s arrest after she disappeared with their daughter, but a Virginia court denied Miller’s attempt to have Virginia refuse to enforce the orders from the Vermont court.
• Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell filed a motion requesting that the full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals review a February 20 decision by a three-judge panel ordering the state Registrar of Vital Statistics to issue a birth certificate listing both adoptive dads of a boy born in Louisiana but adopted in New York. (Via Lambda Legal e-mail message. Not yet on their Web site.)
• Washington, D.C. wasn’t the only capitol to begin allowing same-sex couples to marry this week. Mexico City did as well, also giving same-sex couples the right to adopt.

Advice

• Lauren Forcella, who runs the syndicated “Straight Talk for Teens” column, takes on a question from a teen whose mother won’t let her go over to the house of a friend with two moms. Actually, Forcella’s panel of teen respondents tackle the question as well, and their comments give me hope for the next generation. (And just to alleviate any possible confusion, the “straight” in the title refers to directness, not sexual orientation.)