Adoption and Parenting

Lambda Legal, Immigration Equality and pro bono counsel Morgan Lewis this week urged federal district courts in Georgia and Maryland to compel the U.S. State Department to recognize the U.S. citizenship of two children born abroad to married same-sex couples who are themselves U.S. citizens.

Yesterday, Myles Brady Davis and Precious Brady-Davis announced the arrival of their child, who was born earlier this month. Myles, who carried and gave birth to their baby and identifies as transmasculine, and Precious, his wife who is a transgender woman, have requested that the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) issue an accurate birth certificate that does not misgender them and either describes them both as “co-parents,” or alternatively lists Myles in the field reserved for “Father/Co-Parent” and Precious as “Mother/Co-Parent.”

Today, Immigration Equality, Lambda Legal, and pro bono counsel Morgan Lewis filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Maryland against the U.S. Department of State for refusing to recognize the citizenship of Kessem Kiviti, the daughter of married U.S. citizens Roee and Adiel Kiviti. The State Department’s policy treats the children of U.S. citizens in same-sex marriages as “born out of wedlock,” unconstitutionally stripping their children of citizenship.

The Tennessee State Senate is soon to vote on Tennessee SB 1304, a license-to-discriminate bill that allows taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies to reject foster or adoptive parents based upon the agency’s religious beliefs.