Law prof. Art Leonard summarizes 2010 legal developments

New York Law School professor Art Leonard, founder and editor of Lesbian/Gay Law Notes, has prepared a summary of the major legal developments of 2010 affecting LGBT people, and he has posted it online here. His monthly Law Notes publication is the single best way to keep abreast of the legal news that matters to the lives of LGBT people.

Tomorrow is last day to propose a panel for conference on lesbian lives in the 1970s

The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at CUNY (the City University of New York) is hosting a conference October 8-10 entitled, "In Amerika They Call Us Dykes: Lesbian Lives in the 1970s." Tomorrow is the last day to respond to their call for papers. I've submitted a proposal to speak on the emergence of the first legal issue specifically identified as lesbian: the right of a lesbian mother to

Gay people missing from recent GAO report on Social Security

Shortly after posting about the flaws in the upcoming "Rock for Equality" action, I came across a post on the Elder Law Profs Blog about a Government Accountability Project report released last month. The report, Social Security: Options to Protect Benefits for Vulnerable Groups When Addressing Program Solvency, acknowledges and addresses the way Social Security currently deals with families. It

LA Gay and Lesbian Center and NGLTF lead misguided action about Social Security

As a long-time champion of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, it pains me to have to criticize that organization, as well as the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, for its just-unveiled Rock for Equality action. The premise of the action is simple -- and misguided: that same-sex couples, who, even if they marry, cannot have their marriages recognized under federal law, are discriminated

Congratulations to Kenyon Farrow

Queers for Economic Justice has named Kenyon Farrow its new Executive Director. I met Kenyon when we were both part of the group that wrote the "Beyond Marriage" statement. Kenyon is a visionary. QEJ is the only LGBT organization with a mission dedicated solely to the well-being of those who are economically disadvantaged.I'll be making my annual contribution to QEJ in Kenyon's honor. I

Recent dissents from the focus on same-sex marriage

While I know I'm not alone in questioning the focus on achieving marriage for same-sex couples, consumers of mainstream media might never see dissenting viewpoints coming from the gay rights movement itself.Here are two recent posts worthy of attention. Historian Amy Sueyoshi notes that "the marriage movement’s single-minded determination for 'equality for all' has forgotten that many more

A "beyond marriage" perspective on the anniversary of Stonewall

Lisa Duggan, an original drafter of the "beyond marriage" vision statement, has a piece in the Nation and appears on today's Democracy Now. In her Democracy Now interview, she is especially eloquent about who the movement for marriage equality leaves out and how thinking more broadly about family and relationship recognition can benefit more LGBT people and be a basis for building real alliances

Love makes a family...but only through marriage

On a day when most people are focused on the marriage win in Iowa (watch for my post on the court's opinion soon), I read the news that the Connecticut group Love Makes A Family is disbanding. Its "core purpose" was achieving marriage for same-sex couples, and., having done that, it is closing up shop. So I guess its name should have been Marriage Makes a Family.Often when I talk about the

Beyond Marriage Goes to Creating Change

Creating Change was fabulous as usual. "Beyond marriage" ideas showed up in several ways. At a Thursday morning plenary for some of the day-long institutes, activist Urvashi Vaid's top-10 list included expanding relationship recognition. (It was number 4) "Why ask for what exists?" she asked. "We need to broaden the definition of family." And then she recommended my book to everyone! A proud

Creating Change conference coming up

Support of adoption by LGBT individuals and couples on the White House website? It is amazing, but the White House doesn't control adoption law. States do that, and, like Arkansas in the last election, states can decide to limit adoption to married couples, to single people who live alone, or to whomever they want (subject to Constitutional challenge like that of the ACLU to the Arkansas law).

We're not getting allies complaining this way about the tax laws

If news reports from a panel at last week's Gay and Lesbian Leadership Conference are correct, some of the leaders of our national organizations need some educating. According to an article in the Washington Blade, "[Human Rights Campaign President Joe] Solmonese and others on the panel agreed that amidst the national recession, a new focus should be placed on the unique economic issues that gay