Another Red State Victory for Queer Families

Step by step, queer families are seeing moves to full recognition, even in American red states (and in church). The latest in victory in Idaho follows court decisions in Utah and Oklahoma to strike down the states' constitutional ban on gay marriage, and the decision by Nevada's Republican governor not to defend his state's ban. A challenge to the gay marriage ban in Texas is in court this week, and court challenges under way in a further 19 states.

There is progress too in many churches, including the Catholics: Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin, is just the latest in an expanding list of senior bishops who have opposed full marriage equality, but suggested civil unions as an alternative.

Irish Government begin bid to allow same-sex couples to adopt TheJournal.ie

JUSTICE MINISTER ALAN Shatter has, today, published the General Scheme of the long-anticipated Children and Family Relationships Bill.

The proposed legislation, which would clarify the legal status of children in in civil partnerships, surrogacy arrangements and assisted human reproduction, will now go forward for discussion at Oireachtas committee level.

The new laws will allow civil partners to jointly adopt a child for the first time.

According to the Minister, this measure “removes the current anomaly where single lesbian and gay individuals can adopt children, but civil partners cannot jointly adopt”.

Today’s law relating to adoption provides for the adoption of children by married couples and by single persons (irrespective of their sexual orientation), but not jointly by civil partners.

 Shatter has asked the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality – in conjunction with members of the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children – to undertake a consultation process on his proposals for the Bill.

The cross-party TDs and Senators will have until Easter to furnish any observations to his department before the outlined proposals which, according to the Minister, “seek to put in place a modern legal architecture to underpin family situations”.

TheJournal.ie:

Related articles

• New law to permit adoption by same-sex civil partners
• Guardianship, Custody and Access Rights for Gay Couples.
• Referendum on same-sex marriage to be held in 2015
• Couples Sue to Force Ohio's Hand on Gay Marriage
• Another Red State Victory for Queer Families
• High Court orders Israel to recognize gay adoption of child born through surrogacy

Kansas supreme court rules in favor of gay adoption

After deliberating over a claim submitted by two women over parenting rights, the supreme court of Kansas passed a landmark ruling in favor of gay adoption
25 FEBRUARY 2013 | BY DAN LITTAUER

Kansas state supreme court made a landmark ruling that same-sex couples are to be allowed to adopt.

In addition it ruled that when a same-sex couple has a child together, both parents can be fully recognized as parents under Kansas state law.

The court explained that Kansas parentage laws apply equally to women and non-biological parents, and that courts must consider the reality of who a child’s parents are in order to protect the interests of children.

With this ruling, Kansas joins a number of other US states in ruling that when two people bring a child into the world and then raise that child as co-parents, the law should treat both of them as the child’s parents, regardless of gender or biology.

The ruling was delivered on Friday (22 February) over a case of two women, Marci Frazier and Kelly Goudschaal, who had been raising children together, but then faced a custody dispute after they separated.

The court ruled that the coparenting contract the couple had signed is valid and should be recognized, as their children are better off having two parents than just one:

'To summarize, the coparenting agreement before us cannot be construed as a prohibited sale of the children because the biological mother retains her parental duties and responsibilities.

'The agreement is not injurious to the public because it provides the children with the resources of two persons, rather than leaving them as the fatherless children of an artificially inseminated mother. No societal interest has been harmed; no mischief has been done.

'Like the contract in Shirk, the coparenting agreement here contains “no element of immorality or illegality and did not violate public policy,” but rather “the contract was for the advantage and welfare of the child[ren]'.

LGBT rights organizations welcomed the ruling across the state.

-Gay Star News

Related articles

• Vatican paper criticises gay adoption after Italy ruling (queerchurchnews.wordpress.com)
• Vatican paper criticises gay adoption after Italy ruling (news.queerchurch.com)
• Puerto Rico Supreme Court Upholds Gay Adoption Ban (newser.com)

Germany: Gay adoption laws strengthened for civil partners

Germany’s highest court ruled today that one member of a civil partnership should be able to adopt their partner’s stepchild or adopted child.

Until now, same-sex couples could only adopt their partner’s biological child.

The new gay adoption laws are now in line with rules that apply to heterosexual couples and judges ruled that this was discriminatory.

Government legislation is to be drawn up by June 2014.

The historic ruling has been hailed as “a breakthrough in equal treatment” by Volker Beck, an openly gay senior lawmaker with Germany’s opposition Green Party.

However, the ruling only means that same-sex couples can adopt the same child on an individual basis and not as a couple and they still cannot adopt unrelated children.

“Today’s decision marks a historic step finally to put rainbow families in Germany on a comprehensive, secure legal footing,” Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said. “Full adoption must be the next step.”

Same-sex civil partnerships have been legal in Germany since 2001.

In August, German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected calls to give to LGBT�couples�the tax breaks�enjoyed�by heterosexual married�couples.

 - PinkNews.co.uk: 

Rainbow families : Gays granted more adoption rights

The Swiss parliament has voted to allow gay couples to adopt each other's children. However, the motion passed in the House of Representatives on Thursday was not as liberal as the original version approved by the Senate.

The Senate had approved a motion granting adoption rights regardless of marital status or sexual orientation, as long as the arrangement was the best option for the child in question. However, the House of Representatives altered the motion – specifying that a homosexual could only adopt the child of his or her partner.
�
In Switzerland, gay couples in a registered partnership are not allowed to adopt children. However, Swiss law permits a single gay man or lesbian woman to do so. This peculiar situation – which essentially punishes couples who have made a formal legal commitment to each other – is what sparked gay rights’ groups to ask legislators to amend the law.
�
Thursday’s developments were welcome news to homosexuals interested in adopting their step-children and gaining proper parental rights. However, gay rights groups will continue to push for full adoption rights.
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In Switzerland it is estimated that there are several thousand children growing up in homes headed by same-sex couples.

- swissinfo:

Related articles

• Uruguay Lower House Approves Gay Marriage (itsaqueerworld.blogspot.com)
• Bishop Walter Sullivan: "A New Saint in Heaven" (saints.queerchurch.info)
• The Conservative, Catholic Case for Gay Adoption (queeringthechurch.com)
• Gays win limited support for adopting kids (thelocal.ch)
• French government approves introduction of same-sex marriage (guardian.co.uk)
• France joins queue for same-sex marriage (smh.com.au)
• Uruguay gay marriage law advances (bbc.co.uk)

Swiss edge closer to gay adoption

Switzerland's upper house of parliament, the Council of States, decided on Wednesday by 21 votes to 19 to give same-sex couples the right to adopt children.

The Council determined that anyone should be able to adopt a child, regardless of their choice of lifestyle, so long as such adoption would be in the best interests of the child, Swiss news agency SDA reported.

In addition, although the type of marriage would not be a determining factor, applicants seeking to adopt must be in some form of registered partnership.

Those in favour of the change in regulations have pointed to the changing face of family dynamics, and the reality that many children do not grow up in what would be considered “traditional” family constellations.

Urs Schwaller of the Christian Democratic Party said that, while he did not doubt that gay and lesbian people could take of children as well as heterosexuals, there was in his view no need to give them rights to adopt, gay information website GGG.at reported.

Conservative politicians are concerned that the rights of registered partnerships are becoming increasingly aligned to those of traditional marriages, gradually eroding the status of marriage. Schwaller maintained that this is not what the Swiss people want, the website reported.

The lower house, the National Council, must now consider the motion before it can pass into law.

- The Local .

Related articles

• Same-sex adoptions nod for Tasmania (itsaqueerworld.blogspot.com)
• Penguin (Gay) Parenting: Lessons for Gay Adoption (itsaqueerworld.blogspot.com)

Same-sex adoptions nod for Tasmania

"TASMANIA will allow same-sex couples to adopt local and overseas children under proposed changes to the state's adoption laws.

At present, only married couples have full rights under adoption laws in Tasmania.

The proposed amendment has angered the conservative Christian Lobby as the group deems a mother-father relationship the best for raising children. Gay and lesbian rights advocates, however, argue a loving and secure family is best for children regardless of the gender of parents.

The move will allow same-sex couples and de facto couples who are registered under the Relationships Act to adopt an unknown child, whether locally or from overseas.

-full report at The Mercury 

At present, the law only allows same-sex couples to adopt children who are "known" to them such as stepchildren or relatives.

The amendment will allow same-sex couples to adopt "unknown" children who have been relinquished by their birth parents and are available for adoption to suitable parents."

'via Blog this'

Penguin (Gay) Parenting: Lessons for Gay Adoption

A few months ago, the Toronto Zoo was in the news, taking flack for a decision to separate two male penguins who had formed a pair bond.

In China, the authorities at a zoo in northern China have taken the opposite approach.  When they saw that a male pair had been attempting to steal eggs, they took the obvious, rational, decision. They identified a chick in need of parents, and set up an adoption.

While zookeepers at the Toronto Zoo were quick to separate Buddy and Pedro for mating purposes, keepers at Harbin Polar Land embraced their eccentric penguins by not only giving them a same-sex wedding ceremony worthy of Leslie Knope but also providing them with their very own baby chick to care for.

Adam and Steve had a history of stealing eggs from more-traditional couples during hatching season. So when keepers noticed a mother of recently hatched twins struggling with her parenting duties, they decided to give Adam and Steve the baby they were looking for.

While it might seem, well, different for a penguin chick to have two male parents, in fact, all penguins are known to have natural instincts for parenting, as males and females equally share in the responsibility to incubate and care for their chicks, before and after they’re born. For this reason, keepers at Harbin Polar Land  

Read more: newsfeed.time.com

Ignore the "wedding" - that's just an obvious, gimmicky PR stunt. There are more important lessons here.

Gay adoption, New Zealand: It "will happen" -Shelley Bridgeman

"A recent Herald-DigiPoll survey found that 54 per cent of people think gay couples should be allowed to adopt children while 36 per cent disagreed. Two years ago a Herald website poll had 41 per cent in favour and 59 per cent against, according to Derek Cheng's article Majority back gay adoption.
Our collective attitudes towards the rights of gay people are clearly becoming more liberal. Most of us see this as a simple human rights issue. The fact that adopting a child isn't an option for same-sex couples is discriminatory and doesn't sit well with our aims of achieving an egalitarian society."

full report at NZ Herald News 

New Zealand: Majority back gay adoption

A majority of (New Zealnd) voters support changing the law to allow gay couples to adopt children, according to the latest Herald-DigiPoll survey.

Labour and the Greens have pushed the rights of gay people as an election issue, but the National Party has sidelined them as not a priority.

Adoption in New Zealand is governed by the Adoption Act 1955, and Labour and the Greens say the law needs of an update.

More than half - 54.3 per cent - of the poll respondents said the law should be changed to allow gay couples to adopt children, 38 per cent disagreed, and 7.7 per cent did not know or refused to answer.

Green MP Kevin Hague

Green MP Kevin Hague, who has started a cross-party group to find political consensus on gay issues, said the result was pleasing.

"It's great to see that most New Zealanders now support this, and I'm confident that once it's in place, that majority will increase even more.

"What should be at the centre of adoption laws is putting the interests of the child first. To do that you've got to have all the options on the table."

- NZ Herald News

Gay adoption: New York leads way, but Gillibrand pushing for national reform

Gay adoption: New York leads way, but Gillibrand pushing for national reform:

"New York's junior senator is pushing federal legislation to lift the ban on gay couples and individuals adopting children.

Between New York's same-sex marriage act and the repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, the momentum is there for the needed reform, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said.

"This legislation would open thousands of new foster and adoptive homes to children ensuring they are raised in loving families," Gillibrand said of her "Every Child Deserves a Family Act.""

NY Daily News

Number of gay couples who adopt tripled over last decade

The number of gays and lesbians adopting children has nearly tripled in the last decade despite discriminatory rules in many states, according to an analysis of recent population trends.

"It's a stratospheric increase. It's like going from zero to 60," said Miami attorney Elizabeth Schwartz, who has coordinated more than 100 adoptions for gay and lesbian families in the last year. "I think many really dreamed of doing this but it wasn't something they ever thought would become a reality."

About 21,740 same-sex couples had adopted children in 2009, up from 6,477 in 2000, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. About 32,571 adopted children were living with same-sex couples in 2009, up from 8,310 in 2000. The figures are an analysis of newly released Census Bureau estimates.

- latimes.com

Related articles

• Census: More same-sex couples in more places 
• Australia: Cairns Regional Council to adopt 'alternative' to formalised gay marriage 

• Adoptions spiked among gay couples in past decade (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Nation Sees 'Stratospheric' Increase in Adoptions by Gay Couples (towleroad.com)
• Foster Children in Florida Finally Get Forever Families (blogher.com)
• Catholics Don't Let Gays Adopt. Could The "Peoria Solution" Fix That? (queerty.com)

Uzi Even: Scientist, Politician, Military Officer, Israeli equality pioneer

b. 18 October 1940

Professor Uzi Even (Hebrew: עוזי אבן) is an Israeli professor of chemistry in Tel Aviv University and a former politician, who has made several landmark contributions to gay equality in Israel.

In the military:

In 1993 he told the Knesset that the IDF, where he served as a Lieutenant Colonel, had sacked him and removed his security clearance after they discovered he was gay. His testimony led to Yitzhak Rabin's government changing the law and regulations to allow homosexuals to serve in the army in any position, including one requiring high security clearance.

In employment:

In 1995 he successfully challenged his employer, Tel Aviv University, for spousal rights for his partner.

In politics:

A member of Meretz, he narrowly missed out on being elected to the fifteenth Knesset in 1999, but as the next placed candidate on the party's list, he became an MK when Amnon Rubinstein resigned in 2002, making him the first openly homosexual member of the Knesset.

In 2006, Even announced he was leaving Meretz and joining the Labor Party, feeling comfortable doing so after he noticed that Labor promised equality to all citizens in its election manifesto.

A member of Meretz, he narrowly missed out on being elected to the fifteenth Knesset in 1999, but as the next placed candidate on the party's list, he became an MK when Amnon Rubinstein resigned in 2002, making him the first openly homosexual member of the Knesset.

In family law:

On March 10, 2009, the Tel Aviv family court ruled that Even and his nowadays ex-partner, Amit Kama, can legally adopt their 30-year-old foster son, Yossi Even-Kama, making them the first same-sex male couple in Israel whose right of adoption has been legally acknowledged.

Denying gay marriage hurts the children

"All families need to be treated equally, for the sake of the children.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a treaty that enjoys almost universal support, having been ratified by 193 countries, including Australia. It provides that in all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child must be a primary consideration.

Contrary to Nicholas Tonti-Filippini's assertion on this page yesterday, a proper application of the principle of the best interests of the child leads to the incontrovertible conclusion that Australia should legalise same-sex marriage."

Read the full opinion at Sydney Morning Herald

'via Blog this'

Gay marriage and adoption movement launches in New Zealand

 Today, New Zealand will Legalise Love.

Legalise Love, a movement to supporting gay marriage and adoption in New Zealand, has launched today.

As well as promoting the acceptance of non-heterosexual New Zealanders, Legalise Love will help Kiwis fight the legislative inequalities they face, which stop us from being an equal nation.

As a nation at the forefront of human rights, it's hard to accept that in New Zealand, we aren't all equal.

Voxy.co.nz

A look at gay adoption

"It has become almost impossible to get from cover to cover in an LGBT magazine without being confronted by advertisements that claim to assist the community in creating a family. Countless services declare their ability to make the process not only seamless, but also, in their glossy spreads, glamorous. Photographs of cute, giggling babies veil the serious side to starting a family.

And what are these advertisements offering? Rarely adoption. These agencies want to make money. Purchase a womb in the form of a surrogate, purchase some sperm, purchase a turkey baster (or rather, ‘insemination kit’); purchase pretty much anything one needs to create a baby. What gets forgotten, however, is the option of starting a family with a child that already exists. There is a danger of people who read these magazines getting the impression that adoption no longer happens. The gay press undoubtedly has a responsibility to recognise the fact that, due to their need for revenue, they are in danger of becoming responsible for a trend in expensive surrogacy and co-parenting arrangements when there are a great many children in care who need to be adopted. It is a particularly important issue to address, when the process is now simpler than ever for gay people.

Read the full report at So So Gay

The Fall of Rome, Reality Based History - and Gay Adoption

The vocal opponents of family equality are fond of making sweeping statements (in flagrant disregard of the evidence) about how marriage has "always" been between one man and on woman, how the proponents of equality are "redefining" evidence, quite ignoring the ways in marriage has been constantly redefined in the past - not least by the Christian churches. A variation on the theme has been that homosexuality has destroyed great civilizations, such as that of Rome. Illinois state Rep. Ronald Stephens has repeated this claim, blaming "open homosexuality" for the fall of Rome.

In a fun, sane response in the Chicago Sun-Times, Neill Steinberg dismisses the claim, basing his response on, well, historical fact, not what he calls Stephens' talking points. His most important observation is that the best known extensive study of the fall of Rome, Edward Gibbons "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", concluded that Roman civilization collapsed not because of homosexuality, but because of - guess what? Christianity.

Would that be a argument to ban Christianity today, for fear that it could cause the collapse of modern Western civilization?

The point I want to make is not that Gibbons was either right or wrong, but to heartily endorse Steinberg's larger point, that grand claims about the lessons of history really ought to be checked against the facts. This is certainly true in the secular sphere, but also in religious discourse. The often -repeated Vatican claims of Catholic "constant and unchanging tradition" are a smokescreen, often used to used to hide the importance of recently introduced changes, as Martin Pendergast noted recently, writing about gradualism in Benedict's theology.

But today, I do not want to explore this theme of the Church's constantly changing tradition. Let's just enjoy, instead, Steinberg's thoroughly delightful response to rep Stephens' ignorance. Here are some extracts:

The Fall of Rome, Reality Based History – and Gay Adoption

The vocal opponents of family equality are fond of making sweeping statements (in flagrant disregard of the evidence) about how marriage has "always" been between one man and on woman, how the proponents of equality are "redefining" evidence, quite ignoring the ways in marriage has been constantly redefined in the past - not least by the Christian churches. A variation on the theme has been that homosexuality has destroyed great civilizations, such as that of Rome. Illinois state Rep. Ronald Stephens has repeated this claim, blaming "open homosexuality" for the fall of Rome.

In a fun, sane response in the Chicago Sun-Times, Neill Steinberg dismisses the claim, basing his response on, well, historical fact, not what he calls Stephens' talking points. His most important observation is that the best known extensive study of the fall of Rome, Edward Gibbons "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", concluded that Roman civilization collapsed not because of homosexuality, but because of - guess what? Christianity.

Would that be a argument to ban Christianity today, for fear that it could cause the collapse of modern Western civilization?

The point I want to make is not that Gibbons was either right or wrong, but to heartily endorse Steinberg's larger point, that grand claims about the lessons of history really ought to be checked against the facts. This is certainly true in the secular sphere, but also in religious discourse. The often -repeated Vatican claims of Catholic "constant and unchanging tradition" are a smokescreen, often used to used to hide the importance of recently introduced changes, as Martin Pendergast noted recently, writing about gradualism in Benedict's theology.

But today, I do not want to explore this theme of the Church's constantly changing tradition. Let's just enjoy, instead, Steinberg's thoroughly delightful response to rep Stephens' ignorance. Here are some extracts:

What Constitutes a “Family”? Empirical Study Finds A Wider View

Religious conservatives are regularly referring to the “traditional family” as a foundation for their beliefs, but there is no such thing. The conservative interpretation of the so-called traditional family is  a relatively modern invention, created to fit the conditions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Western Europe and North America. In earlier times, and other parts of the world. family structures varied enormously from  this particular model.

Family history, like all other history, is constantly changing to fit new circumstances, so it should be no surprise that conceptions of family in the twenty first century are continuing to evolve, to fit a world that is no longer what it was in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Some of these changes are obvious, but like so much that is familiar, can easily be “hidden in plain sight.” A new study by sociologist  Brian Powell brings this into plain view. (His study is specifically of American views, but with the emergence of a shared world culture, many of his findings will also have relevance across a much wider geographic region.)

The central finding is that people no longer define “family” as mom pop and kids, but also include   same-sex couples with children (Children seem to be central: childless couples, gay or straight, are not seen as “families”, but just as couples). However, there is an increasing movement towards acceptance. An important finding, familiar from previous studies on the subject, is that people who know gay people (more accurately, who recognize that people they know are gay), are more supportive than those who are not aware that family members or acquaintances are gay. This simply reinforces the necessity for the wider political struggle, that wherever possible, gay men and lesbians should come out openly, in as many contexts as possible. Coming out personally will improve acceptance in our circles of friends and family. Politicians and other public figures who come out   do so indirectly for the wider community.

I particularly liked an argument on gay adoption that I have been using regularly: framing arguments in terms of the “the best interests of the child” can work to our advantage, not those opposed to gay adoption. (In adoption considerations, the best interests of the child require placement with the best parents available. Sometimes, they will be gay).  Indeed, the claim made (but not elaborated on in the reports I have seen), is that the interests of children may well be a more effective argument than others in making the case for more general equality of same-sex couples.

From the New York Times

A majority of Americans now say their definition of family includes same-sex couples with children, as well as married gay and lesbian couples.

At the same time, most Americans do not consider unmarried cohabiting couples, either heterosexual or same-sex, to be a family — unless they have children.

The findings — part of a survey conducted this year as well as in 2003 and 2006 by Brian Powell, a sociology professor at Indiana University, Bloomington — are reported in a new book, “Counted Out: Same-Sex Relations and Americans’ Definitions of Family,” to be published on Wednesday by the Russell Sage Foundation. Since the surveys began, the proportion of people who reported having a gay friend or relative rose 10 percentage points, said Professor Powell, the book’s lead author.

“This is not because more people are gay now than in 2003,” he said. “This indicates a more open social environment in which individuals now feel more comfortable discussing and acknowledging sexuality. Ironically with all the antigay initiatives, all of a sudden people were saying the word ‘gay’ out loud. Just the discussion about it made people more comfortable.”

The book concludes that framing the equality of same-sex couples in terms of “the best interests of the child” might prove to be a more successful political argument than others.

Related articles at Queering the Church

• The Gospels' Queer Values
• Traditional "Family Values"; "Traditional Family" Values.
• Church Marriage: Required Only For Priests?
• LGBT community: The Real Defenders of Traditional Marriage.
• "Traditional Marriage Is Between Men": US Bishop.
• An Ignorant Mexican Cardinal, vs  Authentic History of Marriage
• Natural Law, Natural Sex, Natural Families.

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Gay Adoption Passes Final Hurdle in NSW

After the original narrow passage in the lower house of the New South Wales Parliament, it's been somewhat of a to and fro struggle, but the bill has now finally passed. New South Wales has joined ACT (Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia) in providing for adoption by same sex couples.

Typically, the difficulties concerned attempts to deal with religious objections. The original bill passed in the lower house only after an amendment to provide for some exemptions for religious bodies. In the Upper House, a conflicting amendment was passed to narrow the scope of those amendments, requiring that the bill return to the Lower House - then back to the upper house again.

A BILL giving same-sex couples the right to adopt has been passed by the NSW parliament, after the Legislative Council voted in support of a last-minute amendment to the legislation.

The bill passed its final hurdle in the upper house just after 6.30pm (AEST) today, after MPs backed the lower house amendment.

The amendment, made by Planning Minister Frank Sartor, frees up adoption agencies to act on the wishes of parents regarding where their children are adopted. It was made to temper changes made in the upper house on Wednesday night, which narrowed an exemption from the Anti-Discrimination Act for faith-based adoption agencies. MPs have been allowed a conscience vote on the historic legislation, leading to heated debate in both houses of the NSW parliament. NSW is now the third state or territory to allow same-sex adoption, after the ACT and Western Australia.

-Read more