A coalition of LGBT groups has released a groundbreaking report on the inequities faced by gay families today. “All Children Matter: How Legal and Social Inequalities Hurt LGBT Families” details key areas where our government is failing to protect gay families, and what steps we can take to fill those gaps. According to the Movement Advanced Project’s summary of the report:
There are 2 million children being raised by LGBT parents–children from all walks of life, living in almost every U.S. county–who have become collateral damage of ideology and laws designed to hurt LGBT people. All Children Matter is the most comprehensive look to date at these children; how they are failed by society, government and the law; and how simple changes to unfair laws can begin to ensure we are giving all children the chance to reach their full potential.
The report details how current laws:
- Deny loving, forever homes to the 115,000 children awaiting adoption;
- Deny children legal ties to both parents, meaning families live in fear due to uncertain family ties, and affecting everything from parents medical decision-making ability in emergencies to a family’s ability to vacation across state lines;
- Wrongly separate children from parents in cases of divorce or death of a parent;
- Deny basic government aid and safety net programs to children in need simply because their family doesn’t meet the legal definition of a family in that state;
- Deny access to parents’ health insurance;
- Deny access to quality child care and early childhood education;
- Deny Social Security Survivor benefits or inheritance when a parent dies;
- Deny LGBT families child tax credits, costing struggling LGBT families thousands of dollars of income.
“All Children Matter” concludes with 100 such recommendations across several key areas including: legal recognition of LGBT families; equal access to safety net programs; equal taxation; equal access to health care and insurance; inclusion in medical decision-making, FMLA and other laws that allow families to take care of each other; anti-discrimination laws; and research and education.
“All Children Matter” was released by the Center for American Progress, the Family Equality Council, and the Movement Advancement Project, in partnership with COLAGE, The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, and the National Association of Social Workers (with a foreword by the Child Welfare League of America).
The Movement Advanced Project has conveniently laid out the report in summary, in full, and “just the facts” version complete with Adoption maps, infographics, and side-by-side comparisons with straight families here.
American Progress hosts a video explaining the report details here.
Source: Movement Advanced Project Study Snapshot
