Arthur Leonard – Lesbian and gay Lawnotes, December 2009   A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Virginia ruled on November 24 that the Fairfax Juvenile and DomesticRelations District Court had properly accorded full faith and credit, as required by the U.S. Constitution, to a North Carolina judicial decision awarding primary legal and residential custody of a child to two gay men (who are registered California domestic partners)....

11.23.2009 A sperm donor who helped a lesbian couple conceive two children is liable for child support under a state appellate court ruling that a legal expert believes might be the first of its kind in the U.S. A Superior Court panel last week ordered a Dauphin County judge to establish how much Carl L. Frampton Jr. would have to pay to the birth mother of the 8-year-old boy and 7-year-old girl. “I’m unaware of any other state appellate court...

By Susan Spencer-Wendel Palm Beach Post Staff Writer November 29, 2009 For Starbucks manager Steven Mayer, 29, it’s a dream: a gay man in Florida one day adopting a child. He and his partner, together about a year now, are making plans to adopt in 10 years. “We’re kind of hoping society will catch up by then,” Mayer said. More than 32 years after its passage, Florida’s blanket ban on gay adoption stands as the...

By 365gay Newswire 11.24.2009 8:51am EST Lesbians make better parents than a man and a woman, according to Stephen Scott, Director of Research, at the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners. In a meeting hosted by the think tank Demos, Scott said that the latest research showed that children of such couples did better in life, reported UK Daily Express. Unsurprisingly, there has been a backlash from the conservative right, with critics saying...

November 8, 2009 The Way We Live Now New York  times By LISA BELKIN It has been apparent for a while now that we live in child-centric times. We approach parenting with a single-mindedness that baffles our own parents, and certainly their parents, who thought children should be seen and not heard. We think it’s just fine to put our kids ahead of our careers, our relationships, our social lives, and even if we aren’t doing so, everyone around...

By The Associated Press 11.06.2009 3:30pm EST (San Francisco) In one ad after another, voters in California and Maine were besieged with images of what would supposedly happen if same-sex marriage were legal: Students on a field trip to a lesbian wedding, elementary kids gobbling up books featuring gay couples, kindergartners learning about homosexuality from their teachers. The strategy worked. Overruling the courts and lawmakers, voters defeated...

By LISA LEFF (AP) –November 2, 2009 SAN FRANCISCO — Same-sex couples who identify as married are similar to straight spouses in terms of age and income, and nearly one-third of them are raising children, according to Census data released Monday that provides a demographic snapshot of gay families in America. The study released by a think tank based at UCLA also found that Utah and Wyoming were among the states with the highest percentages of gay...