NEWSLGBT FAMILIES

Today President Obama endorsed the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that would strike down DOMA and give legally married gays and lesbians the same federal rights and responsibilities as married straight couples.

Shin Inouye, a spokesperson for the White House, told Change.org, "The President has long called for a legislative repeal of the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act,” which continues to have a real impact on the lives of real people – our families, friends and neighbors," Inouye said.  "He is proud to support the Respect for Marriage Act, introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congressman Jerrold Nadler, which would take DOMA off the books once and for all.   This legislation would uphold the principle that the federal government should not deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as straight couples.

The question was originally asked by Metro Weekly's Chris Geidner earlier today at the White House Press briefing. Watch White House Press Secretary Jay Carney respond to Geidner here:

There are more than 1,000 federal rights and responsibilities gays and lesbians do not have access to because of DOMA. Thousands of legally married gays and lesbians throughout the country are taxed differently, are denied social security survivor benefits, and same-sex spouses of military personal will not receive the same death benefits of straight spouses when their loved ones die in combat.

Today is a historic day! New York's Senate passed a bill that will grant the freedom to merry for gays and lesbians!

The bill will be signed by Governor Cuomo who lobbied extensively for the passage of the legislation. The law will go into effect 30 days after the bill is signed.

New York's progression to a marriage equality state will have an enormous positive impact on thousands of LGBT families and their children. Extending marriage to same-sex couples will protect more than 42,000 couples raising 14,000 children.

It will also be a huge economic stimulus. Couples from anywhere in the country can get married in New York under the new legislation. However, because of federal and state DOMA laws, those marriages will not be recognized in most of the country.

Yesterday was kind of a "two steps forward, two steps back" kind of day when it comes to LGBT equality. First the "two steps back" part -- after debate in the Colorado House on civil unions legislation, the measure unfortunately stalled after a 6-5 vote in the House's Judiciary Committee. Yes, despite the fact that 72 percent of Colorado residents support civil unions legislation (from across all political parties, at that), six members of the Judiciary Committee (all Republicans) voted to nix the bill.

But while Colorado proved frustrating yesterday, the state of Delaware proved hopeful. That's because a key State Senate committee debated civil unions legislation, and after two hours of testimony, moved the bill forward to the entire State Senate.

Among those testifying included Rev. Doug Gerdts, pastor of First & Central Presbyterian Church. Rev. Gerdts has a lesbian daughter, and spoke about how she was created in God's image, and that her sexual orientation would not change the fact that he loved his daughter, and wanted to see her granted equal rights in our country. Rev. Gerdts said that when his daughter came out, he was "sad and angry" at the thought of society and lawmakers wanting to make her life more painful because of who she was.

Have you ever just wanted to take someone by the lapel of his or her suit and scream, “What is wrong with you?” Right in their face? No? Maybe it’s just me.

Because I really want to go up to Jan Pauls and Lance Kinzer, both Kansas state representatives (a Democrat and Republican, respectively), and do just that.

What has caused this affective state is something that is so ridiculous, so asinine that I didn’t even think my state elected officials were capable of it. Pauls and Kinzer have successfully made a motion in the Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee to keep on the books the law that makes gay and lesbian relationships criminal.

Oh really? That’s how you’re going to play, is it? That is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard.

Early in January, the U.S. State Department announced it would be changing the passport application form to say “Mother or Parent 1″ and “Father or Parent 2,”  an attempt to be more inclusive of all family structures.

Now, Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) has called the change "a bureaucratic attempt to redefine traditional parent roles." He has filed a bill that would require all federal agencies, contractors, and government-sponsored enterprises to "use the words 'mother' and 'father' when describing parents, and not the words 'parent 1' or 'parent 2' (or other similar words), in all official documents."

Several hundred thousand children are being raised by same-sex parents across the country, over 6,500 of them in Rep. Forbes' state of Virginia, according to the Williams Institute of UCLA. How exactly does Rep. Forbes expect them to complete government forms?

Sure, one can cross out and write in whatever applies to one's own family -- but many people may hesitate to do so on official forms like a passport application. And for children watching their parents complete the forms, such crossing out and amending reinforces the message that their families are marginalized.

When we hear stories about politicians casting decidedly anti-gay votes, and going on record saying that same-sex couples ought not to have full and equal rights when it comes to raising and/or adopting children, it's easy to conjure up images of Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, or a bevy of politicians whose claim to fame is their ability to marginalize the LGBT community.

We don't typically think of Democrats with a reputation for being an ally to the LGBT population. Yet in Utah, a supposedly gay-friendly Democratic leader actually went on record this week against a bill that would allow second parent adoptions in Utah, and enable gay couples to have the same parenting rights as their heterosexual counterparts. That politician would be State Sen. Patricia Jones, and during a town hall meeting following her vote, State Sen. Jones elaborated on why she voted against the bill.

"I live in an area, as many of you are aware ... that's really very conservative. I have walked this district five times, five election cycles. I feel like I know what's on the minds of the constituents in this area," State Sen. Jones said. "My personal belief is that marriage should be between one man and one woman, and that kids are better served ... in a traditional family."

Utah has been a beacon of LGBT rights activism of late. In the past year alone, at least 10 communities have passed anti-discrimination ordinances inclusive of the LGBT community, with more communities prepared to do so in 2011.

Yet on a statewide level, some anti-gay lawmakers are really trying to counteract this progress with some harsh legislation. Take, for instance, State Rep. LaVar Christensen, who just introduced a bill that could bar same-sex couples from making certain contractual arrangements like wills or financial arrangements.

That's right. State Rep. Christensen wants to pass legislation that could prevent LGBT people from drafting wills with their life partners. Amazing that he not only wants to keep same-sex couples apart in real life -- Rep. Christensen was one of the legislators behind Utah's constitutional amendment barring gay marriage -- he now wants to keep same-sex couples apart in death, too. Now that's how you say heartless.

Everyone likes a workout partner, especially if that partner is the love of your life. After all, what better way is there to end the day than running on a treadmill next to your wife, husband, or partner, catching up on life while collectively getting in better shape?

It's just a shame that one Dallas-based gym has to rain on everyone's parade. That's because the Tom Landry Fitness Center, run by the Baylor Health Care System, won't allow same-sex couples to enroll in the gym under what's known as a family membership. Doesn't matter if the couple involved has been together for five years or 45 years; if you're an LGBT family, you won't be recognized by the Tom Landry Gym.

And that has one Dallas resident fighting back, and fighting back hard.

When you think of same-sex families, what cities spring to mind? San Francisco? New York? Provincetown?

It turns out that same-sex couples in Southern states such as Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are more likely to be raising children than those on the West Coast, in New York and in New England. In fact, San Antonio, Texas, leads the nation in the percentage of same-sex couples raising kids, at 34 percent. Jacksonville, Florida, is next, at 32 percent.

The New York Times reported on this January 19, citing research by Gary Gates of the Williams Institute at UCLA, well known for its studies of LGBT demographics and economics. Gates and others have been analyzing the new data from Census 2010, and found some interesting trends. For example, Black or Latino same-sex couples are twice as likely as white ones to be raising children, and more likely to be struggling economically.

That contradicts almost every image of same-sex parents we see in the mainstream (and even much LGBT) media. They are almost always white and middle- to upper-class. Consider: Both Showtime's The L Word and ABC's Modern Family ran episodes in which a couple of same-sex parents try to get their child into an exclusive preschool. And new dads Elton John and David Furnish aren't exactly hurting for money. Although it may indeed help the cause of acceptance to see their family in the media, they are not representative of the whole.

Neil Patrick Harris and Elton John aren't the only gay fathers in the world, though you would hardly know it by the lack of media coverage that families run by gay men receive. Not surprisingly, a lot of these gay fathers live in the LGBT mecca that is Southern California. And now a non-profit supporting these men has unleashed a campaign to raise awareness about just what it means to be a gay dad.

The Pop Luck Club, which was founded in 1998, announced the launch of the "Raise A Child" campaign on Tuesday, January 4. One of the main goals of the campaign is to increase awareness and understanding in the community for gay fathers and their families. It also attempts to inspire gay fathers and those who aspire to be gay fathers, while promoting the variety of ways that one can start a family in 2011. Surrogacy, fostering and adoption are all highlighted as part of the campaign.

Another main endeavor of the ads is to reduce the stigma that still surrounds gay parenting. The group hopes to achieve this goal through radio public service announcements and bus shelter ads that feature family portraits. For the month of January, the campaign will have ads up across the Los Angeles region.