UTAH: Lesbian Moms Win Birth Certificate Battle With State

Via the Salt Lake Tribune:

A federal judge said Wednesday that Utah must recognize the rights of a married lesbian couple by issuing a birth certificate for their infant daughter that lists both of the women as legal parents. "The state has failed to show any legitimate reason, actually any reason at all, for not treating a female spouse in a same-sex marriage the same as a male spouse in an opposite-sex marriage with regard to be recognized as the legal parent" when the child has been conceived with donated sperm, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson said. The ruling in the case of Angela and Kami Roe is the first in the wake of the June U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex unions in all 50 states, attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union said.

Important: "Utah's assisted-reproduction statute addresses only donated sperm, not a woman's egg or surrogacy, so the decision does not affect married gay men."

ARKANSAS: Three Gay Couples Sue State Over Children's Birth Certificates

Via the Associated Press:

Three same-sex couples sued Arkansas health officials Monday for refusing to name both spouses on their children's birth certificates, arguing the state is violating their constitutional rights after gay marriage was legalized nationwide. The married women said in the lawsuit filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court that the state Health Department would list only the biological mother on the birth certificate, and said they were told they would need a court order to name both spouses. The couples sought the birth certificates after last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down gay marriage bans nationwide. The lawsuit says not providing the birth certificates "(deprives) these children of the dignity, legitimacy, security, support and protections provided to children of heterosexual couples, regardless of marital status."

A spokesman for the state has refused to comment.

Court To Liberty University: Your Liability Insurance Doesn't Cover Kidnapping Children From Their Gay Parents

On the same day in 2012 that a preacher was found guilty of abetting the kidnapping of her daughter to Nicaragua, lesbian mom Janet Jenkins filed a RICO lawsuit against many of the parties suspected of conspiring in the crime, including Liberty University, the parent of the vile anti-gay hate group Liberty Counsel, whose president Mat Staver is specifically named in the suit. Today the ACLU reports that the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court's ruling that Liberty University's liability insurance policy covers such lawsuits. Read the ruling. (Tipped by JMG reader BK)

One Million Moms Vs Tylenol

What took them so long?

Gay and lesbian couples are featured prominently in Tylenol's new #HowWeFamily campaign, which aims to change the face of the American family. A same sex prom couple and two gay dads with a baby are among those featured in the campaign's first TV ad. A voiceover declares, "Family isn't defined by who you love, but how."

Tylenol is glorifying all modern family types by stating a family is based on love not traditional marriage, and then showing gay couples with their children. One Million Moms believes family is based on love, but this does not justify normalizing sin. 1MM does not agree with the need for Tylenol to support same sex marriages or couples.

Plus, Tylenol recently used a lesbian couple shown nose to nose in a printed magazine ad. It was included in Good Housekeeping June 2015issue on page 21, to name one example. At the bottom of the ad it states that Tylenol is a national corporate partner with the Human Rights Campaign.

Companies should advertise the quality of their products, or in this case, how and when to take a medication and why it works. They should not be highlighting who is attracted to whom or who sleeps with whom. This is a marketing decision Tylenol will regret. This gay-inclusive commercial is attempting to desensitize viewers. There is concern about the way this ad is pushing the LGBT agenda, but an even greater concern is the way that they are attempting to redefine "family."

TAKE ACTION: Please contact Tylenol (owned by Johnson & Johnson) through our website urging them to pull this inappropriate commercial immediately and remain neutral in the culture war. Also, let Tylenol know that continuing to air this ad and other offensive advertisements in the future will force your family to make the decision to no longer purchase Tylenol or Johnson & Johnson products.

Memo to One Million Moms, Brian Brown and Franklin Graham: Johnson & Johnson is ranked at #39 on the Fortune 500 with over $75 billion in sales last year. Among its consumer brands are Activue, Band-Aid, K-Y, Listerine, Rogaine, Rolaids, and Sudafed.

Fisher-Price Backs LGBT Families

Via press release:

Fisher-Price® and Proud Parenting today announced the launch of the Proud Parenting LGBT Family Photo Gallery, presented by Fisher-Price®. The goal of the program is to increase the visibility of LGBT parents and to encourage interaction and support between LGBT parents, their friends and their allies.

The Proud Parenting LGBT Family Photo Gallery is a curated photo collection of LGBT parents with their families. It provides an authentic look into the proud lives of these modern families. New families will be featured throughout the summer across the Proud Parenting digital media outlets and will be promoted by Gay Ad Network on LGBT websites, social media and mobile apps.

"We are thrilled to partner with Proud Parenting for its first-ever program to increase the visibility of LBGT families," said Hailey Sullivan, Director of Marketing, Fisher-Price. "Fisher-Price is proud to help all parents give their children the best possible start in life." "We are excited to partner with Fisher-Price on the Proud Parenting LGBT Family Photo Gallery," said Jeff Bennett, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Proud Parenting. "With a long-standing history of diversity and inclusiveness, they are now leading the way for a new generation of families."

Follow the campaign on Instagram and Facebook. Memo to Franklin Graham and Brian Brown: Fisher-Price is owned by Mattel, a Fortune 500 company which grossed $6.5B in 2014. Other Mattel brands include Barbie, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and American Girl.

COSTA RICA: Spanish-Language Father's Day Cookie Ad Features Gay Couple

Via the Tico Times:

A recent ruling by a judge in Goicoechea to recognize the first same-sex common-law marriage in Costa Rica’s history was just in time for a Father’s Day commercial that prominently shows a gay couple. The commercial, “Families in all their forms,” focuses on a father and his son opening a bag of Pozuelo-brand “Familia” cookies. As the dad explains that there are different kinds of families, the commercial follows an older couple without children – a gay couple – and a stay-at-home dad. The commercial concludes with the words, “When there’s love, there’s family.” Ana Isabel Sanz, regional marketing director for Pozuelo, told the daily La Nación that the company was not looking to challenge the traditional idea of the family. Instead, Sanz said that the company wanted their publicity to reflect the new kinds of families in Costa Rica, 60 percent of which don’t fit the old father-mother-kid mold.

An update to the above-linked story notes that the commercial's airing in San Jose this afternoon has spawned some boycott calls on social media.

(Tipped by JMG reader Will)

FLORIDA: Gov. Rick Scott Signs Bill Removing Unenforced Gay Adoption Ban

Florida's 1977 ban on gay adoption was struck down by a Miami-Dade County court in 2008. The state appealed that ruling, but it was upheld in a 2010 state district appeals court decision. Following that appeals court ruling then-Gov. Charlie Crist announced that the ban would no longer be enforced, but it took until earlier this year for the state legislature to formally strike the law. In March hate group leader John Stemberger sent a letter to all Florida legislators, telling them that the 2010 ruling only applies to the counties under the jurisdiction of the appeals court and that the Department of Children & Families is infested with pro-gay workers anyway. Stemberger had a lovely meltdown on Twitter last night following the governor's signing.

New Tylenol Ad Stars Gay Couples

Ad Age reports:

Johnson & Johnson's Tylenol today breaks a new #HowWeFamily campaign that celebrates the diversity of modern families -- depicting gay, lesbian, immigrant and biracial families in a 30-second spot from J. Walter Thompson, New York. The work builds on Tylenol's modern take on the Norman Rockwell family last December -- which kicked off its "What Matters Most" campaign -- with a new full-fledged integrated effort. The new campaign's initial TV ad, which will begin airing on TV next week, is part of a three-month effort that will include in-depth videos on 10 real families from around the U.S., a "docu-short" on changing American families, and results of a national survey on families, all housed on a microsite -- HowWeFamily.com.

Senate Rejects Same-Sex Benefits For Veterans In Non-Marriage Equality States

Via the Washington Blade:

An amendment failed in the Senate on Thursday that would have ensured veterans in same-sex marriages have access to certain spousal benefits wherever they live, although eight Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the measure. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) introduced the measure — which is along the lines of her standalone legislation known as the Charlie Morgan Act — on the floor of the Senate during debate on the fiscal year 2016 defense authorization bill. The vote on the measure was 53-42, which was short of the 60-vote requirement needed for passage. U.S. code for veterans benefits looks to the state of residence, not the state of celebration, to determine whether a couple is married.

The eight Republicans who voted for the Shaheen amendment are: Sens. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Susan Collins (Maine), Ron Johnson (Wis.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Jeff Flake (Ariz.) and Rob Portman (Ohio). Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who are pursuing the Republican nomination to run for the White House in 2016, voted against the amendment. Not casting a vote were Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who are also seeking the Republican nomination. In a statement after the vote, Shaheen vowed to continue the fight to ensure veterans in same-sex marriages have access to spousal benefits wherever they live.

The issue, of course, may be moot very soon.

The Final Nail In Regnerus Study Coffin

Miranda Blue writes at Right Wing Watch:

In an upcoming article, a pair of sociologists are putting what they call the “final nail in the coffin” of the much-criticized study by University of Texas sociologist Mark Regnerus that purported to show that being raised by gay and lesbian parents harms children. The Regnerus study has become a favorite tool of Religious Right activists seeking to show that households led by same-sex couples are bad for children. At the same time, the study has come under scrutiny for the funding it received from anti-gay groups and for its lack of respondents who were actually raised in same-sex parent households. Indiana University's Brian Powell and the University of Connecticut’s Simon Cheng didn’t just find methodological flaws in Regnerus’ research — they took the data he collected, cleaned it up, and redid the study, coming to a very different conclusion about families led by same-sex couples. Their article will be published in “Social Science Research,” the same journal that published the Regnerus study. By eliminating suspect data — for example, a 25-year-old respondent who claimed to be 7’8” tall, 88 pounds, married 8 times and with 8 children, and another who reported having been arrested at age 1 — and correcting what they view as Regnerus’ methodological errors, Cheng and Powell found that Regnerus’ conclusions were so “fragile” that his data could just as easily show that children raised by gay and lesbian parents don’t face negative adult outcomes.

Hit the link for much more.

Robert Oscar Lopez: The Government Will Pay Reparations To Kids Of Gay Parents

"Over time, there is no doubt that there will be at least 100,000 citizens, probably well over 500,000, placed into same-sex homes entirely or predominantly because of the state’s response to demands for expanded marriage rights from gay lobbying organizations. These citizens will not have chosen to be deprived of a parent of one gender and subjected to the authority of an additional guardian of the other gender – these are citizens for whom the choice will have been made by the government (a government run by an older generation), when they were infants, or not even born yet, and had no way to consent to or understand what was being done to them. A sizable number of these citizens could come together and document losses, damages, or 'pain and suffering' incurred because they were forced to grow up in a same-sex parenting home as opposed to a home with a mother and father. If this ends in a reparations trial decades down the line, we can’t say there weren’t ample warning signs of what was to come." - Homocon horcrux Robert Oscar Lopez, in an American Thinker column comparing the children of gay parents to the Japanese-Americans interned during World War II.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: In April 2014 Lopez filed a SCOTUS brief in which he opposed same-sex marriage because gay people have been been mean to him. In March 2015 Lopez declared that gay activists are incentivizing home-wreckers. Also in March 2015 Lopez declared that gay parents like Elton John are disgusting terrorists. In December 2014 Lopez filed an amicus brief with the Eleventh Circuit Court in which he opposed Florida marriage because gays have been telling lies about him. In September 2014 Lopez compared the Human Rights Campaign to the Khmer Rouge. Also in September 2014 Lopez petitioned the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to stop gay marriage in Texas because he used to be a prostitute. In April 2014 Lopez filed an anti-gay amicus brief in support of Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage. In March 2014 Lopez declared that gay men are turning surrogate mothers into breeding slaves. In 2013, in addition to appearing on stage at an anti-gay Manif Pour Tous rally in France that was supported by neo-Nazis, Lopez testified against LGBT equality before several state legislatures and he co-signed an anti-gay homocon brief to the Supreme Court in support of DOMA. You really must read the Media Matters take on Lopez' trilogy of gay erotica.

Disney Broadway To Host LGBT Families

Via Playbill:

Playbill will celebrate its second annual Playbill Pride initiative with Family Day OUT, a June 13 event that invites LGBT families and allies to attend special performances of Disney's The Lion King and Aladdin on Broadway. A partnership with Disney Theatrical Productions and Family Equality Council, Family Day OUT is sponsored by Amtrak and will bring together LGBT families, friends and allies who believe that all families are equal and deserve the same respect and protections under the law. The event is part of Playbill's second annual Playbill Pride initiative, a month-long celebration of the theatre world's LGBT community, which will return this June.

Family Day OUT kicks off at 11 AM with a pre-matinee party and lunch at Times Square's B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, where families have a chance to meet cast members from Disney’s Broadway productions of Aladdin and The Lion King, participate in hands-on activities hosted by Disney Teaching Artists, and celebrate Family Equality Council — the nation's leading advocacy group committed to securing family equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer parents. Family Day OUT will continue with select seating at the 2 PM matinee performances of Aladdin and The Lion King.

Get tickets here.

Obama Backs LGBT Foster Parents

The White House just issued a proclamation in recognition of National Foster Care Month in which President Obama backs LGBT parents. An excerpt via press release:

We know that children are best raised in families, not institutions. And each year, men and women of all backgrounds open their homes and hearts to foster children. These selfless individuals step up and serve as loving parents and family members and dedicated teachers, mentors, caseworkers, and faith leaders -- helping foster children realize their highest aspirations despite the great odds stacked against them. My Administration is striving to bolster all those who support foster children by providing the resources and assistance they need. With so many children waiting for loving homes, it is important to ensure all qualified caregivers have the opportunity to serve as foster or adoptive parents, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. That is why we are working to break down the barriers that exist and investing in efforts to recruit more qualified parents for children in foster care.

Scalia Backs Robert Oscar Lopez

AG Eric Holder Lauds LGBT Triumphs In Goodbye Speech To Justice Department

Attorney General Eric Holder has left the building. But not before a press conference in which he righteously spiked the ball about the LGBT triumphs seen during his tenure. Moments ago the Department Of Justice joined in on Twitter by posting the above photo. Earlier today the DOJ posted the below recap of Holder's life and six years with the Obama administration. When the history books of this time in our movement are written, Eric Holder should have his own chapter. Maybe two.

Wells Fargo Ad Stars Adoptive Gay Moms Learning Sign Language For Daughter

FLORIDA: John Stemberger Won't Give Up On Anti-Gay Adoption Bill

Today's FRC Marriage Fast Prayer: Maybe It Would Better Just To Drown Gay Parents

The Family Research Council's 21-day fast against same-sex marriage is in its second week and today's prayer opens with a scripture which suggests that might be better to drown gay parents than have children grow up in such a household.

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6. God, please intervene to protect the children who, if forced to grow up in same-sex households, apart from the true nurture and admonition of the Lord and with a distorted view of God, the Bible and the family. Have mercy upon those who are already in such circumstances (Gen 18:19; Dt 11:16-21; Jn 21:15; Eph 6:4). Preserve, protect and save these and yet unborn children who will be and already are being adopted into these unnatural households (Is 59:21; Mt 19:14; Jn 10:8-15) Protect all of our children and grandchildren, some who are already being taught in public schools that homosexuality is OK, that same-sex "marriage" is OK, even equivalent in value to natural marriage (Is 59:2-5; Jeremiah 9:3-6; Rom 1:22-32) Please intervene to stop the rush toward laws that give people special rights and benefits because of their sexual practices and identity. Stop the madness: fines and lawsuits against God fearing people who object because of their faith -- all of which will accelerate and multiply if the Supreme Court does not uphold historic, Biblical, traditional marriage -- all of which will impact children disproportionately! (Isaiah 59:15; Luke 18:1-8; Jude 1: all)

Charming, huh?

FLORIDA: Repeal Of Gay Adoption Ban Clears Final Legislative Hurdle

Via the Associated Press:

Florida's ban on gay adoption is getting tossed out by the state's Republican-controlled Legislature. The Florida Senate on Tuesday voted 27-11 for an adoption bill that repeals the law first passed in 1977. It now heads to Gov. Rick Scott. Sen. Don Gaetz, the sponsor of the bill, called the current ban "meaningless" because it is no longer enforced. An appeals court ruled it unconstitutional in 2010. But Sen. Alan Hays called the repeal of the ban "a poison pill." He urged legislators to consider the long-term implications of repealing the ban. The House has passed a separate "conscience" law that would allow faith-based organizations handling adoptions to refuse to let gays adopt. It's not clear if the Senate will pass the measure.

The bill passed after this speech by GOP Sen. Don Gaetz.

Robert Oscar Lopez: Christians Will Lose All Rights If SCOTUS Approves Marriage

"If gay marriage passes, you will lose. You will lose your freedoms. You will lose your voice. You will lose the conservative movement that you hold dear for any number of reasons not related to gay marriage. All the truces and compromises that are offered to sweeten gay marriage as a deal will be swiftly and mercilessly broken once it is the law of the land. Your churches will be watched and subverted. You will risk your job by speaking your mind on e-mail, on Facebook, or even over dinner talking to your own children. If you are hoping to carve out some religious liberty provision in a post-gay marriage America, you are going to be too late. You gain nothing by negotiating some special exception for yourself after gay marriage passes. You must do everything you can to stop gay marriage itself. If you cannot name the reasons for opposing gay marriage in clear, fearless terms that apply to people of faith and non-believers equally, you will lose your faith. The Bible tells us to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. Don't forget the serpents in the mix." - Homocon horcrux Robert Oscar Lopez, writing for American Thinker.