COLAGE News Blog

Action Alert for Illinois May 22 07

The Illinois Civil Union Bill
Status of HB1826 - The Religious Freedom and Civil Union Act

Representative Greg Harris’ HB1826, the civil union bill, is slowly but surely gaining support in the Illinois General Assembly even as this session’s deadline moves closer. Equality Illinois reports that they are within striking distance of having the votes to pass this historic and necessary bill. But passage depends on you.

Rep. Harris initially introduced HB1826 to the House Rules Committee in late February of this year. After passing from the House Rules, it was assigned to the House Human Services Committee, where on March 21st, the Bill was passed with a vote of 5-4, with 4 Democrats and 1 Republican voting in favor of Civil Unions. Since then, HB1826 has been in the Illinois House of Representatives where it is now up for consideration and approval by the full House.

Your state representative needs to hear from you, your family, and your friends. The voices of youth and adults with LGBT parents are an important part of building support within the House for this bill.

The Civil Union Bill provides recognition and some protections to same-sex couples in Illinois. COLAGE affirms that children and families are healthiest when they receive equal validation, respect and rights as other children and families.

What the Civil Union Bill Provides:

- Medical decision-making & hospital visitation for partners
- Right to control disposition of remains
- Inheritance rights
- Domestic violence protections

You have the power to make equality a reality in Illinois.

For full text of HB1826, click here

To read up on the actions and the status of the bill, please click here.

To continue to lend your voice to the chorus of support for this bill, take action with Equality Illinois!

Support ENDA! May 14 07

COLAGE urges our members and allies to call their representatives and invite them to support the Employment Non Discrimination Act of 2007. (ENDA)

ENDA will ensure that individuals in this country will be evaluated in the workplace based on their merits. COLAGE supports the idea that individuals should not be prevented from supporting their families and contributing to the economic life of our nation because of characteristics that have no bearing whatsoever on the ability to do a job. We also believe that children and youth are going to be healthiest in families where their parents and/or guardians are able to find meaningful and respectful employment. Yet it remains legal in 33 states to fire or refuse to hire someone simply because of his or her sexual orientation; in 42 states it is legal to do so solely based on an individual's gender identity (e.g. male, female, transgender). Congress now has a chance to pass meaningful legislation that would end this injustice.

U.S. Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA), Deborah Pryce (R-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Christopher Shays (R-CT) have re-introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). ENDA (H.R. 2015) would extend fair employment practices under federal law to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. ENDA would not create any "special rights," but would simply offer Americans basic protections from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The U.S. public supports such protections: a May 2006 Gallup poll found that 89 percent believe gays and lesbians should have equal rights in the workplace. COLAGE agrees and further supports those equal rights for bisexual and transgender individuals.

Tell Congress that you support ENDA and that Congress must pass this critical anti-discrimination legislation. Urge your Representative to sponsor ENDA and help ensure its passage!

Learn more about ENDA!

Take action to support ENDA!

Uniting American Families Act May 10 07

The Uniting American Families Act was introduced May 8th in the U.S. House by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and in the Senate by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) The bill would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act by adding “permanent partner" next to “spouse" and provide the same immigration procedures for same-sex partners as currently exist for immediate relatives of United States citizens.

COLAGE applauds the reintroduction of this bill and hopes for its swift passage. We know that families that are able to legally and easily stay together are healthier, happier environments for youth and parents alike.

One member of the COLAGE Speak OUT program, Marina Gatto commented, " As a child of LGBT parents I am told everyday that my family and I are second class citizens and that we are unequal in the eyes of the law. Since my parents are a bi-national couple I am a legal stranger to one of my moms, and they are legal strangers to each other. My moms do not even have the right to claim each others bodies. I think it is important that we as a community demand and expect nothing less than full equality for all people and all families. This bill deserves immediate attention and support as it will help to gain much needed equality for children like me and families like mine."

You can learn more about the bill and efforts to support its passage on the Immigration Equality website.

Speak OUT Campaign- Blogging for LGBT Families Day May 10 07

COLAGE Speak OUT Campaign, Spring 2007

Are you a youth or adult with one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender parent/s ? Do you want to help raise visibility and awareness about people with LGBT parents? Do you use any online forums for networking or blogging?

We want you to participate in the first-ever COLAGE Speak OUT Campaign!
Blogging for LGBT Families Day
Friday, June 1st, 2007.

COLAGE is the only national organization working with children, youth and adults with one or more LGBT parent/s. Our Speak OUT Campaigns engage our membership to use their voices to raise visibility and impact change. We have chosen this campaign to encourage our members to utilize online forums in which they participate as a means for raising visibility and awareness about children of LGBT parents.

Through our first-ever Speak OUT Campaign, COLAGE aims to increase the number of youth and adults with LGBT parents who participate in this impactful event. “We know that when we speak out about our true experiences, share the blessings and challenges of having families deemed “different�? by the rest of society, and talk about the ways in which we and our families are not equally validated or protected, we have a unique and powerful ability to impact change.“ shared Meredith Fenton, COLAGE Program Director. “Furthermore, particularly for youth and young adults, the internet, online social networks, and blogs are becoming increasingly influential mediums of communication and we recognize that by being out as people with LGBT parents online we can continue to transform society.�?

What is Blogging for LGBT Families Day?
We are looking for at least 30 youth and adults with LGBT parents to participate in the 2nd annual Blogging for LGBT Families Day. It’s easy to participate- on June 1st, 2007 post a journal entry, essay, article or creative piece to your favorite online form. Just make sure that your piece explicitly talks about having an LGBT parent.

Over 130 bloggers participated in last year's Blogging for LGBT Families Day. They included lesbian moms, gay dads, adult children of LGBT parents, members of the transgender community, LGBT individuals without children, and straight allies. Countries represented included the United States as well as Australia, Canada, and the UK.

What should I write about?
You can write about any topic related to having LGBT parents that you like- serious, political, humorous, sentimental… anything! Use your post to “come out�? about having an LGBT parent, to share a story about your family, to talk about myths and truths about having LGBT parents, or provide your insight as to what its like to have an LGBT parent. You can write about current legislation such as ENDA (The Federal Employee Non Discrimination Act) or the Uniting American Families Act which would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act by adding “permanent partner" next to “spouse" and provide the same immigration procedures for same-sex partners as currently exist for immediate relatives of United States citizens. By highlighting these or other pieces of legislation you can talk about the ways your family does receive the same rights and respect as other families or encourage your online friends and family to take further action.

To participate in this Speak OUT Campaign there are just 5 easy steps!

1. Send an email to Meredith@colage.org letting us know that you plan to participate.

2. Start developing your post for Blogging for LGBT families day. Let COLAGE know if you want any help developing or editing your post.

3. On June 1st, 2007 post your entry to any online forum:
a. MySpace
b. Facebook
c. LiveJournal
d. Blogs
e. Etc.

4. Send COLAGE a copy of your article and a link to your post (when possible) by emailing Meredith@colage.org. Also send an e-mail to lgbtfamilies@mombian.com with the permalink to your post. (If you know how, you may also add the tag “blogging for lgbt families day” to your entry.)

5. Visit http://www.mombian.com on June 1 to read what other members of the LGBT community and allies have written for this event.Celebrate that you are joining with COLAGErs across the world to educate our families, friends, and communities about the experiences of youth and adults with LGBT parents.

For more information, support with this project, or any questions, contact Meredith Fenton, COLAGE Program Director at 415-861-5437 x102 or Meredith@colage.org.

Together we will make change!

The COLAGE Speak OUT Program is a national network of youth and adults with one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender parent/s who are committed to raising awareness and making change. Members of Speak OUT participate in media activism, public speaking, legislative advocacy, creative expression and more. To learn more or to sign up, click here!

Blogging for LGBT Families Day was created by Mombian: Sustenance for Lesbian Moms - a blog offering a daily mix of parenting, politics, and diversions to strengthen and sustain lesbian moms in all their varied roles. The associated Mombian Resource Directory for LGBT Parents contains over 500 links to information on starting a family, raising children, LGBT politics and law, blogs, forums, and offline groups for LGBT parents, and much more. This year the event is being sponsored by the Family Pride Coalition.