As LGBTQ+ people, many of us grow up alienated from our biological families. In the bad old days before PFLAG, most of us hid our sexual orientation and/or gender identity from our parents or grandparents, siblings, uncles, aunts, or cousins. Often, when our family members did find out, they rejected us for being who we are. Since marriage equality is a recent phenomenon, most of us lived our lives without the benefits that legally-sanctioned, opposite-gender spouses take for granted. Instead, we in the LGBTQ+ communities created new forms of relationships that were for us what biological families, heterosexual marriages, or parenting were for others. We call those relationships families of choice, as opposed to biological families we were born into and grew up with. Queer authors and activists have written extensively about this topic, most notably Kath Weston in her dated but still-relevant book Families We Choose (1991). In it she writes, “Gay (or chosen) families dispute the old saying, ‘You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your relatives.’ Not only can these families embrace friends; they may also encompass lovers, coparents, adopted children, children from previous heterosexual relationships, and offspring conceived through alternative insemination.”
Guest Column
With the help of Elon Musk, GOP legislators are considering reducing payouts under Social Security, including raising the retirement age and other benefit cuts. As one GOP representative recently told Fox Business Network, “we're going to have to have some hard decisions” on Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare.
La elección presidencial de 2024 ha dejado a muchas personas de la comunidad LGBTQ, comunidades de color, mujeres y otros grupos marginados enfrentándose a una dura realidad: Donald Trump regresará a la Casa Blanca.
After a slim majority of America’s voters returned a toddler with a loaded gun to the presidency, I put myself on a strict national news diet. Now entering the second month, I limit my national news consumption to one hour per day, as needed, down from five.
Many in our community were quick to criticize Congresswoman-elect Sarah McBride, accusing her of “capitulating” to a new Congressional bathroom rule introduced by Republicans.
Writing about the intersection of politics and law during this tumultuous time in American history can be taxing. Since mental health experts say gratitude can reverse the psychological harm caused by Trump’s rotating buffoonery, I was determined to share my heartfelt gratitude over the Thanksgiving holiday. This year I’m thankful for:
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