Well, J.C. Penney is at it again. They’re trying to destroy the very fabric of our society, causing social upheaval, widespread misery, and universal damnation. Yep, they’re running a father’s day ad with real-life dads in it. Two of ’em, to be exact. But how is that any different from the hordes of other advertisements we’ll be subjected to over the next couple of weeks as we work our way towards Dad’s day? It’s because the couple in question is just that — a couple.
Posts Tagged ‘lgbt’
One Ad, Two Dads, One Million Moms
Friday, June 1st, 2012Who marries who at 3 years old?
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012Marriage is an abstract concept that, frankly, most young children don’t fully understand. For them, it’s usually good enough to know that when grown-ups love each other very much and want to be a family together, they get often get married. There’s no need to discuss the tax implications or workplace benefits or hospital visitation rights with a three-year-old. But is it necessary to limit the concept to the traditional one-man-one-woman definition just because you’re talking to a three-year-old? Even if you, personally, are okay with the idea of same-sex marriage? Even if you live in a country where same-sex marriage is legal? Lisa van de Geyn, writing in Today’s Parent, seems to think so, because talking about same-sex marriage is hard.
Dancing Is For Boys
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011My oldest son is turning into quite the hoofer. He’s no Gene Kelly, yet, but at only nine years old, I wouldn’t expect him to be. If he keeps at it, however — and he certainly seems to have the motivation to do so — by the time he graduates from high school he very well could be up there with the likes of Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, The Nicholas Brothers, Sandman Sims, and so on. He’s always tapping his toes and practicing his dances.
Fishes and Lizards and Snakes, Oh My!
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011Kids like critters. Even the ones that say they don’t like them or who are scared of them are generally fascinated by them, if they can view them from an appropriate distance. So, of course, they make for great lessons — lessons the students won’t soon forget. After a day with non-human guests in the classroom, kids will rush home to breathlessly tell their parents that a lizard’s tail can grow back or that snakes lay eggs like a chicken. So why would anyone get upset about a lesson featuring geckos and clownfish?
Don’t Say Gay in Tennessee
Saturday, May 21st, 2011I gather it’s not easy being gay in Tennessee. If you listen to country music, most of it seems to be about the value and nobility of small town life — hard labor, cheap beer, and church on Sunday. There’s not much room in there for difference, let alone anything not considered manly. It seems the rest of the state isn’t much different from Nashville’s music. The state senate has recently approved a bill that would prevent teachers from discussing anything related to homosexuality before the ninth grade.
Florida Boys Get New Parents
Thursday, January 20th, 2011It shouldn’t be news, actually. Foster kids get adopted all the time. Not as often as we’d all like, certainly, but it does happen. So why would anyone care that Martin Gill adopted his two foster children? Gill was the boys’ foster parent for 6 years before the adoption became final on Wednesday. But it’s not so much the adoption itself that’s noteworthy but the route Gill took to get there. You see, Martin Gill is gay and, until recently, Florida was the only state in the nation with a law on the books that barred homosexuals from adopting. That is no longer the case, thanks to Gill and the ACLU.
Your Marriage Is All About The Kids
Tuesday, January 11th, 2011According to Andrew Haines, writing in Ethika Politika, the blog of the Center for Morality in Public Life, without children, the whole point of marriage vanishes. That is, you and your spouse don’t actually love each other; you’re just in it for the good genes. While this is not a new theory (in fact, it is so old as to have been thoroughly debunked over and over again), Haines’ take on it is a novel one; he seems to be saying that if two people who cannot have children together are allowed to get married, everyone else’s marriage will fall apart.
Couple’s Niece and Nephew Are Also Grandkids
Thursday, December 30th, 2010Here’s something you don’t see every day — a British couple has discovered that not only are they aunt and uncle but that they are also the grandparents of the same children. Lynn and Charles Lowden learned that Lynn’s sister’s children were actually her own son’s offspring. Now, before you start calling Jerry Springer, it’s not as bad as it might sound at first.