COLAGE News Blog

COLAGE Speak OUT Member Testifies in Florida Oct 29 07

On October 22nd, Floridans calling for the reversal of the Florida LGBT adoption ban reversed spoke at the Senate Committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs in Tampa. Shelby Isaacson, the adult daughter of lesbian mothers and a member of the COLAGE Speak OUT program, was one of the featured speakers.

You can see Shelby's moving testimony online here:

After participating in the hearing, Shelby shared with COLAGE, "I think everyone struggles with admitting when their parents are right, but when mine kept telling me, 'family is created by love not by blood,' I knew they were on to something. It isn't always easy explaining to others that I have two moms. There are always the weird questions, however this time it just felt right to say how I really feel about my unique family."

Upcoming hearings that offer an opportunity to share what you think about the adoption ban in Florida are coming up! The Florida State Senate has scheduled two public hearings on Foster Care and Adoption. The tentative times and locations are:

Monday, November 5, 2007
6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Pat Thomas Committee Room,
412 Knott Building
Tallahassee

Monday, December 3, 2007
6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus, Building 1
Miami

To learn more about the adoption ban and other LGBT equality issues in Florida, visit http://www.eqfl.org/.

To join the COLAGE Speak OUT member and share YOUR experiences of having one or more LGBTQ parent/s, visit the COLAGE Speak OUT page.

COLAGE and Partners Release First-of-a-Kind Report Oct 25 07

FIRST OF ITS KIND REPORT SHOWS THAT LESBIAN AND GAY HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN EARN LESS MONEY THAN THEIR STRAIGHT MARRIED COUNTERPARTS

Groundbreaking report also reveals that ethnic minority LGBT couples are much more likely to be raising children than white couples

MEDIA ADVISORY
TELEPHONE PRESS CONFERENCE
TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY OCTOBER 30, 10:00AM PST
Dial In Telephone Number: 1-800-895-0231
Conference ID: LGBT

The Bay Area LGBTQ Family Collaborative, comprised of three organizations – Our Family Coalition, The San Francisco LGBT Community Center, and COLAGE, has published a report titled Our Families – Attributes of Bay Area Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Parents and Their Children. A telephone press conference will be held on Tuesday October 30, 2007 10:00am PST.

Our Families fills an existing gap in documentation of LGBT families with children and their basic demographics in the San Francisco Bay Area. Utilizing data from the 2000 US Census, as well as from other research professionals and publications, the report reinforces little-known facts about LGBT families. For instance, the average household income of same-gender parents in California is $13,000 lower than the average household income of married couples with children. While this data is astonishing, it is even more startling that there may be countless more LGBT parents locally and nationally who have not yet been recognized due to fears of coming out and the limitations of current research around working class LGBT families.

The report details information on same-gender couple households with children in San Francisco and Alameda counties and also reinforces details of the lives of LGBT families statewide:

• According to the 2000 U.S. Census, in California, 52,000 gay and lesbian couples are raising 70,000 children. These figures are believed to drastically underestimate the actual population.
• Ethnic minority couples are much more likely to be raising couples than white couples.
• Economic and legal disparities affecting same-sex headed families are the most difficult challenges to children’s well being.

Good news is included in this report as well. Increasingly, gay and lesbian parents are having children after coming out of the closet. This increasingly hospitable environment, not without its noteworthy challenges, can be partly attributed to the work of LGBT family advocacy organizations like COLAGE and Our Family Coalition.

"This report sheds light on the incredible racial, economic and geographic diversity of our LGBT headed families in the Bay Area," said Judy Appel, Executive Director of Our Family Coalition. "We are everywhere -- in schools, in places of worship, in your community -- ready to build strong ties of mutual respect and understanding between our families. This adds value not just to the lives of kids of LGBT families, but to all kids."

The report concludes with specific recommendations for better serving LGBT Families, some of which are:
1. Combat anti-gay and gender bias in schools through increased partnership with educators and school districts,
2. Create sound public policy that ensures equal rights for LGBT parents,
3. Increase funding for research about LGBT parents, guardians, and their children.

“The recommendations of this report are crucial to the development of our entire community,” said Rebecca Rolfe, Interim Executive Director of The SF LGBT Community Center. “By arguing passionately for the recognition and celebration of LGBT families with children, we are securing the wellbeing of these children’s futures. We believe it’s vitally important to advocate for equality in every sphere of our lives – personal, professional, and political. The LGBTQ Family Collaborative is tirelessly working to assert that LGBT families in the Bay Area are strong, abundant, and significant.”

“This report is one of the first of its kind nation-wide,” added Meredith Fenton, COLAGE National Program Director. “Access to data about youth with LGBT parents and their families is the first step toward creating truly celebratory communities. COLAGE is thrilled to work with our collaborative partners to release this groundbreaking report. “

Media outlets are invited to attend the tele-conference on Tuesday. Other folks interested in receiving a copy of this ground-breaking report should contact any of the members of the collaborative.

Adoptions Together Seminar features COLAGErs Oct 24 07

LGBT Parenting: "Out" Parenting in a Straight World

This interactive seminar will encompass both the process of LGBT adoption (restrictions, stereotypes, barriers, etc.), as well as the joys and challenges after your child is home, such as living as an "out" family, how to answer questions from nosy outsiders, how to equip your child to deal with differences, and identity. Ideas will also be shared as how to find accepting and affirming services such as daycare, schools, church, doctors, etc.

Presenters: Kate Oliver, MSW, LCSW-C, Social Worker in private practice, daughter of gay fathers and COLAGE Speak OUT member, mother of two children; Ryan LaLonde, COLAGE National Board Chair and Metro DC coordinator and son of lesbian mother and pending adoptive parent; Katherine Rodeffer, M. Ed., school educator for 27 years, and adoptive parent; Jennifer Klotz, Assistant Director, Center for Adoptive Families and adoptive parent

Date: Saturday, November 10, 2007
Place: 10230 New Hampshire Avenue | Suite 200 | Silver Spring, MD | 20903
Time: 1:30 – 4:00 pm Fee: $50/family

If you want to register, please contact Jennifer Klotz at jklotz@adoptionstogether.org.

ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress to vote NO on abstinence-only funding increases. Oct 23 07

Tell Congress to vote NO on abstinence-only funding increases.

Conservatives in Congress want to continue pumping millions of dollars into harmful abstinence-only-until-marriage programs despite the fact that these programs don't work. These programs historically make families with LGBT parents invisible and deny the existence of loving LGBT relationships. COLAGE is encouraging our members to respond to a call for action from Advocates for Youth and to demand that this increase is not approved.

As early as today, conservative Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) plans to introduce an amendment to the Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations bill to increase funding for the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) program, the largest and worst abstinence-only-until-marriage program.

Please contact your Senators today and tell them to vote NO on the Brownback amendment!!!

At COLAGE we believe that youth as well as adults will be healthier when given true educational information about sex in non-judgmental settings. We also believe that health and sex education should be inclusive of LGBTQ families and relationships.

Just a few of the facts that oppose abstinence only education:
* The United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the developed world.
* Young people in the U.S. are also at high risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV.
* Abstinence-only programs are prohibited, by law, from talking about contraceptives EXCEPT to discuss their failure rates.
* A 10-year congressionally mandated study of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs proved once and for all that these programs don't work.

Please contact your Senator today and tell them to oppose the Oppose the Brownback Amendment.

COLAGE Cleveland Game Night Oct 17 07

COLAGE Cleveland Game Night

Join us for Game Night on Friday November 9 at the LGBT Community Center
COLAGE is a community building group for children of LGBT parents.

When: November 9th from 7:00-9:00p
Where: The Cleveland LGBT Community Center
6600 Detroit Ave~Cleveland
RSVP: By October 31st
Please bring a dessert to share, beverages will be provided
We'll have board games, cards, DDR, plenty of places to sit and talk!
Hope to see you there!
For more info:Email Jaime Bishop

CA Action Update: Governor Vetoes Bill Granting Same-Sex Couples the Ability to Marry Oct 15 07

Same-sex couples in California continue to be denied the dignity, benefits and responsibilities of marriage with the governor's veto on Friday of legislation that would have given all committed couples the option to marry. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday vetoed the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act (AB 43), authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and sponsored by Equality California.

Once again, the Governor has gone against the decision of the California legislature and the opportunity to provide Californians with marriage equality through his veto.

Marriage Equality USA is hosting a series of rallies across the state on Monday evening to express community disappointment in his decision, to provide some civil rights education and to show our courage and continued determination in winning the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. Below are the currently planned rallies, if you and/or your organization can participate in one of these events...please contact the local leader if you are willing to publicly speak out as someone with an LGBT parent and as a member of COLAGE.

Definitely let COLAGE know if you want support in developing a speech or send us photos after the event. Children, youth and adults with LGBT parents will continue to speak out against politicians like the Governor who do not agree that our families deserve equal validation and rights under state law.

SCHEDULED RALLIES FOR TONIGHT:
Bakersfield: Rally at 5pm at The Liberty Bell (corner of Truxton and Chester).
Contact Whitney Weddell, MEUSA Kern County Chapter Leader, 661-204-3180 or
ca-kern@marriageequality.org.

Downtown Modesto: Rally at 4pm at the corner of 10th and J Street.
Contact Beth Holden, MEUSA Stan islaus County Co-Chapter Leader, 209-576-5207 or
ca-stanislaus@marriagequality.org.

Porterville: Rally at 5:30pm on the corner of Henderson and Porter (in front of the Save Mart shopping center).
Contact Jamie at glasshouse@clearwire.net

Lakeport: Rally at 4pm at the corner of Main and Third Street.
Contact Laurie Billig, MEUSA Lake County Chapter Leader, 707-891-3385 or
ca-lake@marriageequality.org

Sacramento: Rally at 5:30pm at the Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center, 1927 L Street.
Contact Kinna Crocker, MEUSA Sacramento County Co-Chapter Leader, 916-736-1868 or
ca-sacramento@marriageequality.org

San Francisco: Rally at 5:30pm at Harvey Milk Plaza (corner of Market and Castro).
Contact Pamela Brown, MEUSA Policy Director, 510-384-3655 or
policydirector@marriageequality.org

Stockton: Rally at 6pm on the East side of Caldwell Park, 3215 Pacific Avenue, behind S-Mart on the corner of Alpine.
Contact Martina Virrey, MEUSA San Joaquin County Co-Chapter Leader, 209-518-9102 or
ca-sanjoaquin@marriageequality.org

Ukiah: Rally at 5:30pm in front of the courthouse at Perkins and State Street.
Contact Jody Johnston, MEUSA Mendocino County Co-Chapter Leader, 707-489-6082 or
ca-mendocino@marriageequality.org

COLAGE Scholarship Winners Oct 11 07

COLAGE is excited to announce the winners of our annual Scholarship program which was offered in 2007 in partnership with the Joseph Towner Fund of the Horizons Foundation. Each year COLAGE awards the leadership and accomplishments of undergraduate students with LGBT parents through the Lee Dubin Memorial Scholarship Program. This year we received nearly 50 applications from COLAGErs all across the country. Each of our outstanding applicants is doing incredible work to promote equality and justice for children, youth and adults with LGBT parents in very creative ways.

Winners were selected by a volunteer panel including adults with LGBT parents and a gay father. The scholarships recognize the contributions of undergraduate students with one or more LGBT parent/s who have demonstrated financial need as well as a commitment to effecting change in the LGBT community and the community at large.

COLAGE and the Horizons Foundation are thrilled to recognize this year's deserving winners, Sara Berger, Marisa Martinez, Marina Gatto, and Elizabeth Wall:

Sara Berger was born and raised in Mandan, North Dakota with two moms, a dad, four siblings, and a bundle of crazy pets. Currently a sophomore at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, Sara plans to double major in Neuroscience and Women,Gender, and Sexuality Studies and is fully committed to continuing the fight for the LGBTQ+ community. She is a member of the COLAGE Speak OUT program and volunteered with the COLAGE program during the 2007 Rainbow Families of Minnesota conference. "If it weren't for my unique (and unfortunately, often misunderstood) family, I wouldn't be the open person I am today. I consider myself the luckiest girl in the world for having such a wonderful family, and I am extremely proud of them."

Marisa Martinez, originally from Colorado Springs, will begin her freshman year at Western Washington University in Bellingham this fall where she will launch her studies in art, psychology and writing. Marisa lives with her mother but has remained close to her gay father, who has encouraged and counseled her throughout her life. After enduring serious and repeated harassment at her school, Marisa - with the support of her gay father - demanded justice for herself and others. She confronted her high school principal head-on and was successful in implementing a zero-tolerance policy for harassment as well as ensuring that religious proselytizing would be equated with bullying within the high school in the future. Marisa says, "There is far too much criticism and hatred aimed at people of different lifestyles, and I want to help cultivate a world that is, not merely tolerant, but actually loving and accepting of all."

Marina Gatto is a sophomore at UC Berkeley studying Political Science and Ethnic Studies. Her involvement in politics started years and years before even applying to college! Since joining COLAGE at the age of 9, Marina has been a powerful advocate for LGBT families and their children. Since the age of eight, she has dedicated herself to educating individuals, policy makers, and the media on the importance of anti-heterosexism and family recognition. She has participated in the COLAGE Bay Area chapter and the COLAGE Speak OUT program for many years and was featured in the In My Shoes documentary and on the COLAGE Radio Tour.

Elizabeth Wall, a recent graduate of Lawrence High School, is attending The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. She's from Lawrenceville, New Jersey where she lives with her two gay dads and two dogs. As the leader of her high school Gay Straight Alliance and a co-founder of her local New Jersey COLAGE chapter, Elizabeth has demonstrated an unstoppable commitment to social and political change.

To read more about the Scholarship program and our past winners, visit our Scholarship Page.

ENDA Update and Action Alert Oct 10 07

Last week, thousands of members of the LGBT community- COLAGErs included, delivered an uncompromising message to Congress: Vote for an Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that protects all LGBT people (H.R. 2015), and don’t settle for a substitute bill that leaves some people behind (H.R. 3685).

Congress heard you and postponed a vote on a substitute bill. However the new vote may come as early as next week so your voice is still needed now!

For youth with LGBT parents, having the security and protection of an ENDA bill impacts us the same whether we have lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender parents. We will not settle for a bill that would protect some members of our community but leave out others.

Congress is listening to us and is making up its mind about which bill to move forward — a bill that provides protections based on gender identity or a bill that does not. Your representative needs to hear from you, and needs to hear our message loud and clear.

Please, right now, make a phone call to your representative. Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.3121. An operator will connect you with your representative's office. When a staff person answers, tell them:
"I'm a constituent and I am calling about one bill I support and another I oppose. I support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, H.R. 2015, which protects all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from job discrimination. However, I urge you to oppose any motion or amendment that would strip out transgender protections, or any bill without transgender protections (such as H.R. 3685). We are one community and we want to move forward with one bill that protects all of us. Thank you."

You can also find out if your Representative is having a Town Hall meeting or other gathering in your District this weekend (check their web pages or call their offices). If so, attend and let your Representatives know that we need a transgender inclusive ENDA to pass. They need to hear from their constituents right now.

You can stay up to date on ENDA developments on the website of the National Center for Transgender Equality.

COLAGE and Mombian kick off partnership on Family Voices Oct 2 07

COLAGE and Mombian partner on Family Voices Series

Online Series will Highlight Voices of Adults with LGBT Parents

COLAGE and Mombian are excited to announce a new partnership on Mombian’s Family Voices series to highlight the voices of adults with one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender parent/s. The Mombian Family Voices series profiles the experiences of those in LGBT families in order to increase visibility and awareness of our community. Starting today, on October 2nd 2007, Mombian will post weekly interviews with an adult who has or had LGBT parents.

The interviewees are members of the COLAGE Speak OUT program, a national network of youth and adults who have/had one or more LGBT parents across the country. Adults with LGBT parents have a unique perspective on the challenges and blessings of being raised in families. By sharing their own experiences, reflecting on the cultural and societal shifts impacting homophobia and transphobia during their lifetimes, and being the true experts on what its really like to grow up with an LGBT parent, the COLAGE participants in family voices contribute a unique perspective to the LGBT family movement. The partnership between COLAGE and Mombian will provide an exciting forum to highlight and collect their dynamic stories, advice and viewpoints and thereby promote visibility and awareness.

Our first Family Voice COLAGE interview profiles Kate Oliver, the daughter of gay dads who lives in Maryland. Read her Family Voices Interview.

Additional media interviews available with members of the COLAGE Speak OUT program available by request. Contact Meredith Fenton, COLAGE Program Director by email or at 415-861-5437 x102.