Family related news included moves to secure the right to same-sex marriage and details about a mega wedding ceremony that took place in Manhattan. Also in the news is a discussion about how financial abuse is domestic violence and a personal reflection on the meaning of family.
Dani Blum, The New York Times, June 27, 2022 In the L.G.B.T.Q. community, it’s not uncommon to find a substitute family, colloquially known as a chosen family. The term refers to “nonbiological kinship bonds that many people choose because they need to have mutual support and love,” said Trevor Gates-Crandall, a social worker in Colorado who has researched chosen families. Five of these close-knit communities tell their stories.
Sarah Sentilles, The Atlantic, June 24, 2022 The author shares: “I still think about what people used to tell Eric and me—that the love they feel for their children is different from any other kind of love…This kind of love knows that any stranger can become family, and it lets that knowing change everything.”
Jessica Gould, NPR, July 11, 2022 Hundreds of couples gathered for a massive wedding celebration at Lincoln Center – the wedding that many of them could not have because COVID disrupted their plans. The couples processed down an aisle, two-by-two, where they were welcomed by Mayor Eric Adams, and serenaded by Broadway stars. An imam, a rabbi and a minister blessed their unions.
Patricia Fersch, Forbes, July 21, 2022 Financial abuse occurs when the abuser uses financial means such as withholding child support or spousal support payments to keep their “other” under their control. Research indicates that financial abuse occurs in 99% of domestic violence cases. The author advises that orders of spousal and child support should be granted simultaneously with orders of protection and the courts should order enforcement mechanisms such as wage garnishment and freezing assets as soon as is reasonably possible.
Julie Carr Smyth, US News, August 2, 2022 Obergefell became among the most visible figures in the marriage equality movement after he and his longtime partner, John Arthur, who was dying, flew to Maryland and were wed in a plane on a tarmac because the Cincinnati-area couple could not do so legally in Ohio. Arthur died a few months later, and Obergefell's fight to be listed as spouse on the death certificate led to his role in the landmark 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage.
Annie Karni, The New York Times, August 4, 2022 The second-term Democrat was the first openly gay woman elected to Congress. Now she is leading the effort to rally Republican support for legislation that would protect marriage equality nationwide.