In the nation's capital on Jan. 2, both the Washington Post and the conservative Washington Times carried front page stories -- with photos -- announcing that the first baby of 2003 to arrive in the area was the daughter of two lesbian moms. The new parents recently moved from Virginia to Montgomery County, Maryland, because Virginia doesn't allow second-parent adoptions or recognize familial rights of same-sex partners. "I really like living in Virginia. But it's more important to be a parent," said new mom Joanna Bare, whose partner, Helen Rubin, is the baby's birth mother. Notes the Post, "The fact that a baby touted as the year's first in the Washington area was born into an 'alternative family' reflects the growing trend, some said." And perhaps gay families relocating to gay-friendlier jurisdictions does, too.
Get a Clue. Last week, the Washington Post ran a story headlined "Help Still Wanted: Arabic Linguists." The report dealt with the needs of the CIA, FBI, National Security Agency, and Defense Department, but somehow failed to mention that just two months ago the Army discharged 10 soldiers who were studying to become Arabic linguists because they are gay (see my Nov. 11 posting, "Bigotry Trumps Security"). Ironically, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Bush administration has nominated Arthur Collingsworth, who is openly gay, to a board created to interest people in pursuing careers as linguists and in other areas related to global security. Could any policy be more confused than this one?
Just Looking. Also in the Washington Post on
Thursday was a story about the work of the air marshals now
protecting commercial air flights. As the
Post reported:
In one incident, an air marshal on a flight noticed a male passenger starring at him. He surreptitiously called and told his partner to watch to see whether the man followed him through the terminal. Sure enough, the suspicious passenger trailed the air marshal all the way to baggage claim, where the partner got a local police official to intervene. "Hey, man, it's okay," the passenger said, according to the intelligence official. "I just thought he was cute."