Catholic lesbian parents speak out about preschool
We’ve written about the two small kids who were kicked out of a Catholic school [1]by the Archbishop of Denver [2]because their parents are lesbians.
Now the parents are speaking out in their own words.
Here’s a statement from the parents released anonymously through Boulder Pride; it’s long, but worth reading.
The following is a message from the parents of two children being denied re-enrollment at Sacred Heart of Jesus School
We are normal people. We have two children, a nice house, and a dog. We both hold professional jobs in the community.
You would likely pass us on the street and not take much notice.
We work hard, and enjoy spending time with our family, traveling, and being outdoors. What makes us different is that we are a lesbian couple. We are not activists by nature. You have never seen us at protests or marching in parades. Up until this point, we have taken the typical passive approach of voting for candidates that represent our viewpoints and directing our charitable donations to
organizations whose missions we support. We live in a liberal community, where we have always felt safe, comfortable, and accepted.
Certainly over the years there have been times when our sexuality has been an issue, but they have been relatively minor. We had to hire a lawyer to ensure both of our names were on our children’s birth certificates, to protect our rights to inherit each others assets, and establish medical durable power of attorney.
Luckily, we had the financial means to pay the thousands of dollars to do all of this. In the years that we have been in Colorado, laws have since been changed to protect some of these basic rights. We file our taxes as single. We filled out our census as ‘unmarried partners living together’ since we are not able to legally marry. Upon returning from vacation, US Customs would not process us together because we ‘did not qualify as a family’.
These are things that gay and lesbian people deal with every day.
Recently, we found ourselves in the middle of a political firestorm. We went to enroll our oldest child in kindergarten at Sacred Heart of Jesus School, and were told that our children would not be welcome to continue their education there long term because of our sexual orientation.
This came as a shock to us because our children had been attending preschool at Sacred Heart for three years. We had been open about our family situation from the start, and had always felt welcomed by parents and teachers. The past weeks have been very difficult for our family. We were initially very hurt and angry.
We met with school and church administrators to discuss the situation. We were told that families and students need to uphold church doctrine in order for children to be admitted. We were also told that our children would feel uncomfortable when taught about the “family unit”, and teachers might feel too intimidated by their presence to teach church beliefs.
Our answer to this is that there are many families that do not live their lives according to church doctrine. There are divorced parents, children of parents born out of wedlock, non-Catholics, and non-practicing Catholics. Their eligibility has not been questioned. There seems to be a subjective rating system of which sins are more unacceptable.
Regarding the school’s teaching about the ‘family unit’, we are unconcerned. Our children know that their family is different than most. They are well aware that many families have a mom and a dad, and we discuss different family models openly. We have a good understanding of the church’s position on gay and lesbian people. We have never sought approval from the church of our relationship and we would never ask that the school modify its teachings to accommodate our family. We are not threatened by our children hearing different points of view on any issues.
Next page: It is wrong to punish a child for who it’s parents are
[1] http://www.365gay.com/news/catholic-preschool-wont-let-student-return-because-of-lesbian-parents/
[2] http://www.365gay.com/news/archbishop-defends-decision-on-lesbians-children/
Bill Making Identification Change More Accessible for Transgender Persons Passes Key Assembly Committee, Moves One Step Closer to Becoming State Law
Sacramento – The Equal ID Act took one step closer to becoming law today when it passed the State Assembly Judiciary Committee by a 7-3 vote. The bill, sponsored by Equality California (EQCA) and introduced by Assemblymember Ted Lieu (D – Torrance), increases the legal rights and recognition enjoyed by transgender people by clarifying that qualified transgender people born in California can return to the county of their birth to obtain a court order reflecting their correct gender and accompanying name change. The court order is then used to obtain a corrected California birth certificate.
“All Californians deserve legal documentation that accurately reflects who they are,” EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors said. “Once passed, this law will make it easier for transgender people both in California and beyond to obtain accurate identification, apply for jobs, and live their lives as full and equal members of society.”
Until recently, California law only allowed transgender persons to petition the court for an order recognizing a change of gender in the county in which they presently reside. Last month, the Transgender Law Center successfully challenged the residency requirement in the California Court of Appeals. In Somers v. Superior Court, the court held that the residency requirement violated the equal protection rights of California-born transgender people residing out of state. The Equal ID Act is the next step in ensuring that all Californians are able to obtain accurate birth certificates.
“The Equal ID Act would bring the Health and Safety Code up to date with case law,” said Kristina Wertz, Legal Director of the Transgender Law Center. “It would alleviate any confusion and ensure that California-born people residing in other states know that they, too, can be afforded the dignity of a birth certificate that reflects who they truly are.”
The new bill ensures that transgender people born in California know that they can return to the county of their birth to obtain a corrected birth certificate. It also provides greater access to transgender persons living in the state, allowing them for first time to petition the court in their home counties.
“The Equal ID Act would make it clear to others in my situation that they can go back to the counties in which they were born to get a court order changing their gender. It would save people all the trouble I went through finding attorneys and spending nearly four years in the courts,” said Gigi Marie Somers, who testified at this morning’s committee hearing. Ms. Somers, a transgender woman born in California, was unable to obtain a new birth certificate in the state of Kansas, where she now resides. Ms. Somers was the plaintiff in the legal action brought by the Transgender Law Center.
“The rights of Californians should not end at our state’s borders,” Assemblymember Leiu said. “The Equal ID Act makes certain every Californian has the freedom and liberty to be true to his or herself.”
Birth certificates are used as primary source of identification and are often necessary to secure other forms of identification, including social security cards and passports.
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Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender-rights advocacy organization in California. In the past decade, EQCA has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. EQCA has passed over 50 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org
The Transgender Law Center (TLC) is a civil rights organization advocating for transgender communities. TLC uses direct legal services, education, community organizing, and advocacy to transform California into a state that recognizes and supports the needs of transgender people and their families. www.transgenderlawcenter.org
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/bill-making-i…
La Moves To Bar Same-Sex Couples From Having Names On Birth Certificates
(Baton Rouge, Louisiana) The Louisiana legislature is moving forward with legislation that would bar the state from issuing birth certificates showing two people of the same sex as parents.
The House Health and Welfare Committee has voted 12-3 to send the bill to the full House for a vote. Gov. Bobby …
California Court of Appeal Affirms Right of Transgender Individuals Living Out-of-State to Change California Birth Certificates
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Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender-rights advocacy organization in California. In the past decade, EQCA has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. EQCA has passed over 50 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org
The Transgender Law Center (TLC) is a civil rights organization advocating for transgender communities. TLC uses direct legal services, education, community organizing, and advocacy to transform California into a state that recognizes and supports the needs of transgender people and their families. www.transgenderlawcenter.org
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/california-co…
Transgender woman wins birth certificate ruling
A 67-year-old Los Angeles native, now living in Kansas, won a state appeals court ruling in San Francisco on Friday that makes it easier for California-born transgender people to change their birth certificate, a document that can be critical in a security-conscious age.
Gigi Marie Somers was born male but has lived most of her life as a woman, and underwent sex-change surgery in 2005. She got a driver’s license with her new name and gender and sought a new birth certificate, but learned that Kansas was one of the few states that will not change a resident’s sex designation on a birth certificate.
Somers then turned to a California court, only to discover that a 1977 state law requires an application for a sex change on a new birth certificate to be filed in the county where the applicant now lives.
But Friday, the First District Court of Appeal said the law violates the rights of someone like Somers to be treated the same as a transgender person who still lives in California.
Any law that penalizes someone for moving to another state restricts the constitutional right to travel and can be justified only if it meets an urgent government need, which doesn’t exist in this case, Justice James Marchiano said in the 3-0 ruling.
For anyone in a similar situation, the case is important because of “the emphasis placed on identity documents in our post-9/11 world,” said attorney Matt Wood of the Transgender Law Center in San Francisco, which represented Somers.
He said the federal government and employers are increasingly requiring birth certificates or passports to establish the identity of applicants for various programs and jobs.
Legislation that would have the same effect as the court ruling, AB1185 by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), was introduced in February but hasn’t passed yet, Wood said.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/transgender-w…
NYC to recognize lesbian parents
(New York City) Legally married lesbian couples will now have both names on the birth certificates of their children.
The city Board of Health voted Tuesday to make the change.
Last May Gov. Paterson issued an executive order recognizing the marriages of New York gay and lesbian couples who had gone outside …
ACLU to sue over birth certificates
Two transwomen backed
in effort to have gender recognized by Vital Records department.
Transwomen sue Illinois for amended birth certificates
(Chicago, Illinois) Citing the need to have an accurate birth certificate for identification purposes, two women born in Illinois asked a court to order the State to issue new birth certificates that reflect their correct gender following sex reassignment surgery.
For more than four decades, Illinois has permitted individuals who have …
Rights Groups Release Updated Guide For New York Same-Sex Couples Married Out of State
(New York) — Lambda Legal, Empire State Pride Agenda, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union have released a guide outlining government protections and obligations for same-sex couples in New York who married out of state. The new guide is released as the first anniversary of Martinez v. County of Monroe draws near, and in light of last week’s decision in Lewis v. New York State Dept. of Civil Service – both notable appellate court rulings that upheld government recognition of out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples.
The document, titled: Your Government Respects Your Marriage: Developments in New York State Agency Recognition of Same-Sex Couples’ Out-of-State Marriages, details many of the ways state agencies around New York accord legal respect to married same-sex couples. Lambda Legal, NYCLU, Empire State Pride Agenda and ACLU worked closely with state agencies to confirm and clarify the legal rights afforded to same-sex couples married out of state. The summary offers an overview of some of these statewide protections.
“The guide is a crucial primer for same-sex couples who are recognized as spouses in New York,” said Susan Sommer, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, who has litigated many of the cases confirming marriage respect for same-sex couples. “It shows significant areas in which these couples now are protected, ranging from access to health insurance, to accurate birth certificates for children born to same-sex couples, to important workers’ compensation benefits if tragedy strikes. But until New Yorkers in same-sex relationships can marry in their home state, they are still vulnerable to discrimination.”
“Couples in New York who have never known true security for their families are finally getting a taste of the family protections other married couples and their children enjoy,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “The governor’s determination was based on the NYCLU’s victory in the case Martinez v. County of Monroe, in which an appeals court unanimously ruled that New York State must recognize valid out-of-state same-sex marriages. We commend the governor and our state agencies for following the law and standing up for fairness. But lasting progress requires leadership from both the judicial and legislative branches. It’s time for our political leaders to do what’s right. New Yorkers should not have to leave the state to protect their families.”
“Policymakers and elected officials in New York should recognize that we’re already living in a state with marriage for same-sex couples. Unfortunately, these couples currently have to go out of state to have their weddings performed,” said Alan Van Capelle, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda. “Not only does this mean a loss of literally millions of dollars to New York’s economy, but it is also patently unfair to same-sex couples. New Yorkers shouldn’t have to go elsewhere to get married when they want to stand up in front of friends and family right here and get married in their home state.”
To read the document in its entirety visit: http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/lgbt/ny_governor_respects_marriage.pdf
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/01/rights-groups…
Rights Groups Release Updated Guide for New York Same-Sex Couples Married Out of State
(New York, January 26, 2009) — Lambda Legal, Empire State Pride Agenda, New York Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union have released a guide outlining government protections and obligations for same-sex couples in New York who married out of state. The updated guide is released as the first anniversary of Martinez v. County of Monroe draws near, and in light of last week’s decision in Lewis v. New York State Dept. of Civil Service — both notable appellate court rulings that upheld government recognition of out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples.
The document, titled: Your Government Respects Your Marriage: Developments in New York State Agency Recognition of Same-Sex Couples’ Out-of-State Marriages, details many of the ways state agencies around New York accord legal respect to married same-sex couples. Lambda Legal, NYCLU, Empire State Pride Agenda and ACLU worked closely with state agencies to confirm and clarify the legal rights afforded to same-sex couples married out of state. The summary offers an overview of some of these statewide protections.
“The guide is a crucial primer for same-sex couples who are recognized as spouses in New York,” said Susan Sommer, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, who has litigated many of the cases confirming marriage respect for same-sex couples. “It shows significant areas in which these couples now are protected, ranging from access to health insurance, to accurate birth certificates for children born to same-sex couples, to important workers’ compensation benefits if tragedy strikes. But until New Yorkers in same-sex relationships can marry in their home state, they are still vulnerable to discrimination.”
“Couples in New York who have never known true security for their families are finally getting a taste of the family protections other married couples and their children enjoy,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “The governor’s determination was based on the NYCLU’s victory in the case Martinez v. County of Monroe, in which an appeals court unanimously ruled that New York State must recognize valid out-of-state marriages of lesbian and gay couples. We commend the governor and our state agencies for following the law and standing up for fairness. But lasting progress requires leadership from both the judicial and legislative branches. It’s time for our political leaders to do what’s right. New Yorkers should not have to leave the state to protect their families.”
“Policymakers and elected officials in New York should recognize that we’re already living in a state with marriage for same-sex couples. Unfortunately, these couples currently have to go out of state to have their weddings performed,” said Alan Van Capelle, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda. “Not only does this mean a loss of literally millions of dollars to New York’s economy, but it is also patently unfair to same-sex couples. New Yorkers shouldn’t have to go elsewhere to get married when they want to stand up in front of friends and family right here and get married in their home state.”
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/01/rights-groups…
