Tag Archives: Pete Stark

President’s Mother’s Day proclamation honors all types of mothers

For the second time ever, a president’s annual Mother’s Day proclamation has included a specific mention of families that have two mothers. President Obama’s May 6 proclamation said in part, “Whether an adoptive mom or grandmother, mother or partner, the women

New bill seeks end to adoption bias

Hundreds of thousands of children are in foster care in the United States, while discrimination prevents millions of willing LGBT people from being able to foster or adopt. U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) reintroduced a bill that aims to fix

With children in need, states struggle over gay adoptive parents

Each year, over 100,000 children in the U.S. foster care system are waiting for adoptive homes. And over two million gay and lesbian people are interested in adopting a child. But legislative and court battles are being waged in several

Arkansas Supreme Court reconsiders adoption ban

The Arkansas Supreme Court heard arguments March 17 in a case to determine whether the state constitution will allow a law banning any person cohabiting with a sexual partner outside of marriage from adopting or foster a child. It is

Sponsoring LGBT Legislation No Harm to Electability

A number of LGBT allies lost their races in last week’s elections--but one bit of positive news is that sponsoring LGBT-rights legislation did not negatively impact a candidate’s ability to win.

Movement to ban gay adoption: sacrificing the well-being of children

The case of two gay foster parents in Florida has created a dilemma for the courts: either they honor state law banning adoption by gay men and lesbians or honor their duty to rule in the best interests of the

Test your LGBT IQ

It’s LGBT Pride Month and time to check your LGBT-IQ. Only one question this year: Besides the measures on the House and Senate Defense authorization bills to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, name the other 25 LGBT-specific bills pending in Congress

Every child deserves a family

U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) introduced a bill October 15 seeking to end discrimination against gays in adoption proceedings. The following are some excerpts from his remarks: “Currently, over 65,000 adopted children and 14,000 “foster children are living with a gay