Tag Archives: gay families

Outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta today extended some privileges to gay members of the military and their families. Among the benefits to be offered are military ID cards for spouses, joint duty assignments, and access to support programs for military families. Via press release from Panetta’s office: Seventeen months ago, the United States military ended the policy of “Don’t …

A circuit judge in Florida’s Miami-Dade County has ruled that a gay man should be listed on the birth certificate of a child born to a married lesbian couple.  The man donated his semen to the couple and later sued for parental rights. All three are now listed as the child’s parents. “We’re creating entirely new concepts of families. If …

(Tipped by JMG reader Ned)

PFLAG mourns its founder today. Today the world has lost a pioneer: Jeanne Manford, the founder of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and the Mother of the Straight Ally movement. Jeanne was one of the fiercest fighters in the battle for acceptance and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. It is truly humbling …

Clip description: “After exploding onto the performance scene by grabbing the Youth Speaks Grand Slam Champion prize, watch as 15-year-old Noah St. John electrifies the Snap Judgment Stage with a stunning performance – winning this year’s NPR Snap Judgment Performance of the Year.” Get a tissue. Get two. (Via Towleroad)

From Steven Petrow’s NYT column Civil Behavior: Q: My wife and I each gave birth to one of our two children, born a year apart, using the same donor. We then legally adopted each other’s biological child. We are both loving, committed parents to both children, who are now 10 and 11 – we’re a family. Still, my in-laws clearly …

Reuters reports that Norway’s Princess Mette-Marit secretly traveled to India to care for the newborn twins borne by the surrogate mother hired by a gay palace staffer who was unable to get a visa to go himself. Armed with a diplomatic passport that granted her immediate access, the future queen jumped on a plane in late October when the employee, …

So says Franklin Graham.

For Britain’s National Adoption Month.

Michelangelo Signorile digs up an old clip from Mitt Romney: “Today, same-sex couples are marrying, under the law, in Massachusetts. Some gays are actually having children born to them. We’ve been asked to remove the phrase ‘mother’ and ‘father’ and replace it with ‘parent A’ and ‘parent B.’ It’s not right on paper. It’s not right in fact. Every child …

Another great clip from TheFour.

Beyond cute.

Via press release from Equality Virginia: “Include all families in America’s future” is the message you’ll see when driving through Richmond’s I-95/I-64 interchange through Oct. 20. Equality Virginia and the Gay Community Center of Richmond placed a billboard reminding passersby that America is made up of many families. “This election, we are very fortunate to have candidates speaking loudly in …

“[My mother] thinks children need a father and a mother and I agree with her. I can’t think of anything worse than being brought up by two gay dads. Some people might not agree with that. Fine! That’s just my opinion. I’m not speaking on behalf of the gay community. In fact, I don’t feel like I’m part of any …

The Nicaraguan pastors shielding Isabella Miller from her lesbian mom say they will gladly go to prison or be put to death before surrendering the child to authorities. Last month a jury convicted one of their American conspirators on the same day that the girl’s mother filed a RICO lawsuit against numerous U.S.-based Christian groups. The Brotherhood says that they …

Wow! Amazing! Other sputtering superlatives!

For the first time ever, a Brazilian court has granted paternity leave to a gay man who just adopted a child with his partner. Normally Brazilian fathers are only given five days off work after becoming parents, while mothers receive four months off, but a Brazilian court found that it was discriminatory for a gay couple to receive less combined …