Good morning!

Yesterday was report card day at our house. We have two daughters, one in the fifth grade and one in the sixth grade. I am proud to report that both of them made all A’s except one high B (88 and 89). So, all will be well around our house…for this six weeks at least. The eldest was very unhappy that she had to go to bed before her younger sister. She had the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test today, so she needed extra rest. Then, for breakfast, she had peanut butter on her waffles…for extra protein. I am actually very proud of both of them…most days.

That is how it is with families - fix meals, sign report cards, praise good behavior, scold bad, early to bed, baths and hugs. Not very exciting, but deeply satisfying. Also not very gay or heterosexual. In fact, for the first 12-and-a-half years of parenthood, sexuality has hardly ever come up, and I am about the most openly-gay father on the planet. Okay, so maybe we insist that they set the table properly and that they choose properly coordinated clothes, but those are about the only clues that our daughters are growing up in a homosexual home. So, why is it that Texas State Representative Robert Talton is so afraid of families like ours?

This year, as in years past, Rep. Talton set out to ban lesbian and gay people from being foster parents. In the last session (thank God Texas’ legislature only meets every other year) his proposal never made it out of committee. Our community overwhelmed them with testimony, evidence and witnesses. The facts prevailed, and his destructively mindless legislation died without coming to a vote. This year, though, Texas desperately needs to fix a badly deficient foster care system in which children have died and gone missing. So, at the last minute, when no one was looking, Talton attached his vicious legislation as an amendment to a bill that is badly needed for our children.

He is an evil man who would advance his bigotry at the cost of the most vulnerable children in Texas. In fact, this scene is being repeated across the country. Right-wing conservatives emboldened by the election of one of their own as President (by a scant 51% of the vote) are acting as though they have a mandate to impose their religious values on us all. I don’t object to Talton’s private views and religious values, however when children become the victims it is time to speak out. Following the tragic death of Terri Schiavo, the President said “ "I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected, especially those who live at the mercy of others. The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak.” Well, for once, I couldn’t agree more, so let’s do exactly that.

Legislation like this proposed in Texas and anti-adoption laws now proposed in states like Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana and Oregon harms children who will have to be warehoused in institutions rather than cared for in families that want them. EVERY legitimate study has demonstrated that children cared for by LGBT parents are as healthy, happy and well-adjusted as those growing up in heterosexual households. The same cannot be said for children forced to grow up without any family at all. This legislation may be the right thing for Robert Talton’s political career, but it is not the right thing for the children of Texas.

One of my daughters came into our family as a foster child who we ultimately adopted. One is my biological daughter. There was a one-point difference in their report cards this week. I can assure you, though, there is not a one-point difference in how much they are loved and cherished. The cruel bigotry of people like Robert Talton wouldn’t understand unconditional love, though.

We must not let this kind of legislation go unchallenged. Beyond the legislative lobbying, we must talk to our family and friends. As LGBT people, we must talk to the people who know us and ask them pointblank if they think we are unfit to be foster or adoptive parents. We cannot turn back this tide of repression alone; we need all of our family and friends to stand with us. Together, we can build a progressive majority, but not if we are apathetic and silent. Don’t let Robert Talton and his ilk label you and your community unfit. We are strong people, and, as the President said, we have a duty to protect the weak from those who would do them harm in the name of their bigotry. Stand up and speak up, if not for yourself, then for the children.

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Amendment would ban LGBT foster parents in Texas. If you are a Texan - please act today.

Enough! It is time for every LGBT person in Texas to call on their family and friends to stand with them and for them. It is time for us to demand that our state representatives represent ALL tax payers. It is time for us to require that our government stop playing right-wing political games with our children! MORE...

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Welcome to the web presence of Hope for Peace & Justice! Many of us have grown weary of our faith being used to advance the political agenda of the radical right, nationalists, and social conservatives. MORE...
Gay foster mothers fear the worst - Cheryl Crumley and Donna Sickles take their kids to Chuck E. Cheese's. They constantly wipe spit-up off their clothes and change poopy diapers. They go to church on Sundays. Donna Sickles (left) and Cheryl Crumley have their hands full as foster moms to four children, including two babies. And they can't understand why anyone would consider them unfit parents. "We're a normal family," Ms. Crumley said. MORE...
	Too High a Price: The Case Against Restricting Gay Parenting. This download is free, and can arm you with good information for your conversations with friends and family. MORE...		The good ole ACLU has a Lesbian/Gay Rights project and their web page can give you information about what is going on around the country. The current battle in Texas is a rerun with the same politicians, but the war rages on in more progressive place like Wisconsin. MORE...
	Family Pride is a great organization, providing support for LGBT families. They held a conference in Dallas recently hosted by the Cathedral of Hope. Their website has a lot of resources for families, though their primary objective is not political. MORE...		Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas is the gay communities only political lobby in Austin. They have a small staff on the ground there and their website has the most up-to-date information about what is happening and how to have an impact. MORE...

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