This is the first blog post in what we’re calling “Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Family” — a series of conversations and blog posts celebrating National Adoption Month. This post comes from Ellen Kahn, HRC Family Project director:

November is National Adoption Month, an opportunity to celebrate adoptive families, to educate the broader community about the adoption experience, and to raise awareness of the 130,000 children and youth who are waiting for a permanent family. Because many of us know adoptive families, because some of us are adoptive parents or hope to be, and adoption is a common path for LGBT parents, the HRC Family Project is celebrating National Adoption Month through our “Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Family” blog series and web chat (more information below). We want members of our community to feel included and to see ourselves and our families represented in the stories about adoption that permeate the airwaves and e-waves in November when there is increased attention to this important subject.

It is increasingly common for adoption agencies to welcome LGBT adults as families for children and youth in need of stable, supportive homes. In fact, many agencies are actively seeking us by coming to Pride festivals, advertising in LGBT news outlets, or partnering with local LGBT organizations, all with the hope of finding families for children in need. As of this week, 45 agencies have formally signed on to All Children—All Families and are actively working to include and support LGBT families. While there are still bad laws in many states as well as discriminatory practices that continue to place obstacles in our path to parenthood, the general trend among child welfare professionals is in the right direction. Not only do we have 25+ years of research concluding that we make good parents and our children are fine, but adoption professionals have their own real examples of strong, thriving LGBT adoptive families and we are increasingly seen as an important and valuable resource for the children and youth awaiting families.

Our blog series will feature entries from LGBT foster/adoptive parents, adults who were adopted by LGBT parents, and several of our allies in the child welfare profession who are eager to provide guidance and inspiration to any of us who are considering adoption. Whether you feel a connection to this issue or not, I encourage you to tune in and learn more about the children and youth who are waiting for families – perhaps families like yours – and to join our celebration of National Adoption Month.

To invite participation in National Adoption Month, on Thursday, November 19 at 3 p.m., HRC will host a national web chat on LGBT adoption. Prior to the discussion, we’ll accept questions that will be answered live in our chat room at www.hrc.org/chat. Questions may be submitted in advance by emailing webchat@hrc.org.

• WHAT: National web chat hosted by Human Rights Campaign
• WHO: HRC Family Project Director Ellen Kahn; AdoptUSKids Project Manager Kathy Ledesma; CEO and Founder of Roots Inc. Toni Oliver, and Dennis Patrick, a foster/adoptive parent and LGBT parenting expert
• WHEN: Thursday, November 19, 2009 from 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. EST
• HOW: To participate, visit the following link: www.hrc.org/chat

Today the American Medical Association (AMA) made two significant announcements regarding LGBT rights. Its members voted to join the effort to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law and declared that bans on same-sex marriage result in health disparities for LGBT couples and families.

The AMA said that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” should be repealed because it creates an ethical dilemma for lesbian, gay and bisexual members of the military and their doctors.  Because the law requires LGB service members to serve in silence or face discharge, they are unable to provide doctors will all of the information that may be necessary in giving medical guidance and treatment.  HRC applauds the AMA’s announcement and could not agree more.

In addition, the AMA declared that bans on marriage equality for same-sex couples often prevent those couples from obtaining health care benefits, such as insurance and medical leave. Such exclusions result in health disparities.

HRC shares the AMA’s belief that barriers to marriage equality have an array of negative implications for same-sex couples and their families, including substantial health disparities.  HRC welcomes the AMA’s concerns over health care disparities and encourages it to support laws that would fully and fairly recognize LGBT people and their families.

Same-sex couples in the District are now one step closer to equality!

This also means that whenever today there is a way for a straight married couple to finance their health benefits on a pretax basis, an employee paying for the benefits of a domestic partner would be able to do the same pretax financing, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights advocacy group.

The House’s legislation, which includes language from a bill titled the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, makes health insurance benefits for domestic partners (and adult children) tax-free if an employer offers them, excluding them from an employee’s gross income and bringing their taxation in line with that of health benefits provided to the spouse or dependents of an employee married to a person of the opposite sex.

It’s an exciting moment to open your inbox and find another critical piece of research revealing the reality of the effects of open service in the U.S armed forces has been published.

Yesterday, the Rand Corporation announced the publication of a new study that will soon appear in Armed Forces and Society that again addresses unit cohesion as it relates to open service. The study notes that “unit cohesion” arguments appear to be the sticking point for those opposed to repeal . Although the full study has not yet been publicly released, there are a few interesting details that can be gleamed already.

Almost half of those opposed to lifting the ban at the very core level were opposed to open service based not on their own feelings on the issue, but on the perceived reactions of their peers. In fact, though 75% of servicemembers reported being comfortable around gays and lesbians, 40% were opposed to lifting the ban and 33% were neutral. At least fifteen percent of survey respondents opposed to lifting the ban, then, can not be described as ”anti-LGBT.”

Unlike previous studies which dismissed the unit cohesion argument on the basis that success leads to cohesion based on shared experiences rather than cohesion based on homogeneity leads to success, the premise of this paper debating cohesion seems to be based mostly on survey respondent answers. Essentially the paper argues that leadership, training, and equipment are much more relevant to cohesion than open service, which in fact was found to be irrelevant in regards to cohesion. As the approach is different and the results the same, this only strengthens the arguments previously set forth by a 1993 Rand study.

This new study is yet another source to add to the already large body of research supporting repeal.

Today, the Human Rights Campaign joined leaders and advocates among the LGBT community today in the launch of Our Families Count (www.ourfamiliescount.org) — a new voluntary public education initiative promoting LGBT visibility and participation in next year’s U.S. Census.  The new 2010 Census education project is a collaborative and unique strategy to unite disparate populations across the entire LGBT spectrum.  The outreach effort is designed to educate all LGBT people about the importance of responding to the once-a-decade Census.  The new website (www.ourfamiliescount.org) is the centerpiece of the campaign and is available in both English and Spanish language versions.

Said HRC President Joe Solmonese:

“It is vital that every lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender person participate in the Census.  Census data allows LGBT families to be visible in a way like no other, and that is why HRC is a proud member of the Our Families Count partnership.”

A full list of the community, business and academic leadership groups to date that have endorsed the project and its education mission, in alphabetical order, follow the jump…

Community Leaders:

• Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee (BAYMEC)
• American Institute of Bisexuality
• Bialogue
• The Bilerico Project
• BiNet USA
• Bisexual Resource Center
• California Faith for Equality
• Colage
• Delaware Valley Legacy Fund
• Equality Across America
• Equality California
• Equality Federation
• Family Equality Council
• Freedom to Marry
• Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
• The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada
• Georgia Equality
• HONOR PAC
• Human Rights Campaign
• LA Bi Center
• Lambda Legal
• MEGA Family Project
• Mi Familia Vota
• National Black Justice Coalition
• National Center for Lesbian Rights
• National Center for Transgender Equality
• National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
• National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance
• National Sexuality Resource Center
• New York Area Bisexual Network (NYABN)
• One Iowa
• Palm Beach County (Fla.) Human Rights Council
• PFLAG National
• Safe Schools Coalition
• Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)
• Transgender American Veterans Association
• Unid@s
• Youth Pride

Business Leaders

• Dancenow Productions, Inc.
• Echelon Magazine
• MZM Farm, LLP
• Renna Communications
• Savvyplanners.com
• Witeck-Combs Communications, Inc.

Academic Leaders

• National Sexuality Resource Center 
• The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law

Of course, the Senate must also still act but is currently in a holding pattern as they wait for a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).  Those numbers are expected later this week or next week.  Once the cost is known, the leadership can finalize the bill for consideration on the floor.  The two committee-passed bills, from the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Finance Committee, which are being merged, do not contain the important provisions for LGBT people incorporated in the House-passed bill.  HRC will continue to monitor the progress of the Senate and look for opportunities to move provisions forward for our community, be it on the Senate floor or in the conference of the two bills.

Many in New York are frustrated and tired, but certainly not defeated which is why it is so important that everyone take action in the next 24 hours. If you have called your Senator, call him/her again. If you have emailed your Senator, email him/her again. Post this action alert to your facebook or twitter account. Email your friends and ask them to go to www.hrc.org/nymarriage and ask them to take action today.

We have fought hard for 11 months and we will cross the finish line victorious together, but only if we keep ensuring our voices are heard in Albany. Take action today so we can see a vote for marriage equality tomorrow!!!

• Health Disparities – the bill specifically designates LGBT people as a health disparities population, opening up health data collection and grant programs focused on health disparities related to sexual orientation and gender identity. With collection of data and funding of research, we can better address the specific health issues facing LGBT people.
• Unequal Taxation of Domestic Partner Benefits – the bill ends the unfair taxation of employer-provided domestic partner health benefits, incorporating the language of the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act. Without this tax penalty, more people will be able to afford employer-provided coverage for their families, and more companies will be able to offer these important benefits.
• Early Treatment for HIV under Medicaid – the bill also incorporates the Early Treatment for HIV Act, which allows states to cover early HIV treatment under their Medicaid programs, instead of withholding treatment for Medicaid recipients until they develop full-blown AIDS, This will dramatically improve the quality of life for low-income people with HIV, as well as saving taxpayers money and reducing the transmission of the virus.
• Comprehensive Sex Education – the bill provides funding for comprehensive sex education programs that focus not only on abstinence, but also reducing teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. After more than $1 billion wasted on failed and discriminatory abstinence-only programs, this funding will provide youth, including LGBT students, with the tools they need to live healthy lives.
• Non-discrimination – the bill prohibits consideration of personal characteristics unrelated to the provision of health care. HRC worked with a coalition of civil rights groups to develop and lobby for this language and we believe it will help protect LGBT people from discrimination in the health care system, where there are currently no federal protections for our community.

As the legislative process moves forward, HRC will continue to work to ensure that these important provisions remain part of the bill that reaches the President’s desk and, once it is law, to see that it is properly implemented.

UPDATE: See our new post “Next Steps on Health Reform, LGBT Provisions & Anti-Choice Amendment“