Family Equality Council

The movement for equal treatment of LGBT-headed families is taking another significant step forward after the first International LGBT Parenting Symposium which took place in the summer of 2011.

A blog post at Family Equality Council brings attention to the growing number of young Americans who support adoption by gay and lesbian couples. A new report highlights the cultural gap between millennials (defined as Americans between 18 and 29) and seniors (65 and older). The study found that a majority of Americans (56%) support gay and lesbian adoption.

The "International Family Equality Day" will take place on May 6, 2012, to celebrate LGBT families across the world. The dramatic increase in the numbers of LGBT people who choose to raise children is a global phenomenon. The movement for equal treatment of our families took another significant step forward with the first ever International Symposium of LGBT Family Organizations which took place in Florida in July, 2011.

Growing numbers of gay couples across the country are adopting, according to census data. The percentage of same-sex parents with adopted children has risen sharply. About 19 percent of couples raising children reported having an adopted child in the house in 2009, up from just 8 percent in 2000, according to the Williams Institute. Advocates for gay families can point to legal victories in Florida last year and in Arkansas this passed spring.

Family Equality Council, America’s foremost advocate for LGBT family equality, offers its full support for the Respect for Marriage Act just introduced in the U.S. Senate. “For LGBT families raising children, marriage is more than just benefits and protections,” said Family Equality Council Executive Director Jennifer Chrisler. “Marriage is also an institution that carries with it a universal definition of family.

Family Equality Council announced that registration for the 16th Annual Family Week - in Provincetown, MA - is open. The Week is July 30th through Saturday, August 6th. Family Week is the largest national gathering of the LGBT family community in the United States. The early-bird deadline is May 13, 2011. Online registration ends July 22, 2011.

Since 2000, when Massachusetts become the first state to legalize marriage equality, the number of reported same-sex couples in the state climbed sharply, suggesting that there is a growing public acceptance and that more gay couples are willing to declare their relationships openly.