Many upcoming polyamory events. Poly legal rights advance. Multi-love in cartoons and movie rescriptings. And, No Kings Day is June 14
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First: Here all the regional poly community events coming up in the next five months (that I know about). Conferences! Campouts! Retreats!
June 6 – 9, Galliners, Catalonia, Spain
June 26 – 30, Breckenridge, CO
July 3 – 6, Bastrop State Park near Austin, TX
July 3 – 6, Bastrop State Park near Austin, TX
July 4 – 6, Alborache, València, Spain
♥ The whole Week of Visibility for Non-Monogamy
July 12, Tukwila, WA (suburb of Seattle)
July 25 – August 3, Abrams Creek Retreat Center, Mt. Storm, WV
August 8 – 10, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
August 24 – September 1, Nevada desert
♥ Camp Menagerie (formerly PolyCamp Northeast)
Mid-late August (TBA), central New Hampshire
♥ Camp Constellation (a spinoff from the above)
August 30 – September 3, southern Maine
September 5 – 7, Ávila, Spain
September 19 – 21, Portland, OR
October 16 – 20, Breckenridge, CO
October 16 – 20, Breckenridge, CO
November 7 – 9, Indianapolis, IN
More about all these events — and those for
the next 12 months — is at Alan's List of Polyamory Events.
Any missing? Write me at alan7388 (at) gmail.com
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And now to the news. It's not all grim.
● From Canada comes
another big, if partial, legal win for polyfamily rights: ‘Multi-parent’ families, like throuples, to be granted legal rights in
Quebec
(CTV News, April 30)
Unlike in the US these days, where often "the cruelty is the point."
● And from New Zealand, Polyamorous throuple fight to keep their names on children’s birth certificates (New Zealand Herald, May 10)
● The much-awaited Family and Relationship Structure Non-Discrimination Legislative
Toolkit is new from the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic, in the face of Trump and his federal goons plowing up Harvard. It's a guide for activists and lawyers who want to pass local non-discrimination
ordinances such as pioneered by Somerville, Cambridge, Oakland, and
Berkeley.
By Rachel LauA recent ruling in Quebec has granted multi-parental families in the province the same legal rights as any other unit.
Diva Plavalaguna/pexels.com A Quebec Superior Court judge ruled on [April 25] that limiting the legal affiliation of children to one or two parents is unconstitutional.Lawyer Marc-André Landry, who represented one of the families involved in the case, explains the ruling does not apply to step-parents or other “modern” families that are formed after a child is born. Rather, it applies to a situation where a family has multiple adults involved in a relationship before the child’s conception.In other words, Landry notes, the “parental project” needs to be in place prior to the child’s creation.“It’s not about step-parents or other potential realities, it’s really about three people sitting together and saying, ‘We should have a child together,’ ” he explains. “No one should be treated differently because of their family status.”Three families were part of the case.The first constitutes a “throuple,” three adults – a man and two women – in a relationship, with four children among them.The second involves a lesbian couple and a male donor who wished to be part of the child’s life as a father figure.The third includes a woman living with infertility who allowed her husband to have a child with a friend, who asked to remain on as a mother.“Those families do exist, no matter what people may think,” said Landry, calling the move a “major” change in our collective legal comprehension. “You have kids whose affiliation, from a legal standpoint, does not match their reality.”Landry equates Friday’s ruling to the changing views of same-sex families during the 1980s and 1990s.“It’s the same thing here. The law needs to evolve to match the reality of all Canadian citizens, and those babies who have not chosen to be born in multi-parental families. They must have the same protection, same rights as any other babies under the law.”The Quebec government now has 12 months to amend the Civil Code to match the ruling.
– As reported in the Daily Mail: Court grants THROUPLES the same legal rights as two-parent
families (May 1)
...'In these times when the right to equality is savagely attacked, it feels good,' lawyer Marc-André Landry, who represented the plaintiffs, wrote after the ruling....'The families are overwhelmed with joy,' Landry told DailyMail.com. 'They are being recognized and treated equally which is important for them but also more important for their children. ...
"Toronto 'polycule', married couple Zoe and Rowan Knox with their lovers
Dani and Dame who were not part of the lawsuit."
– Broader legal report: Quebec court recognises multi-parent families (International Comparative Legal Guide, May 1)
...Quebec now joins several Canadian provinces and territories that acknowledge multi-parent families. British Columbia allows up to three parents if there has been a written agreement prior to conception, while Ontario and Saskatchewan permit up to four parents regardless of conception methods. In Yukon, birth declarations can include "another parent" beyond the mother and father.However, the practice has yet to catch on in most other jurisdictions, with California and Maine being the only US states to allow three-parent birth certificates in some cases..jpg)
Elsewhere, both South Africa and Washington, DC, permit three parents to be named where the child has been born by surrogacy while, in New Zealand, the law allows for multiple individuals to have parental status under certain surrogacy arrangements, but currently, only two parents can be listed on New Zealand birth certificates.No European country allows for more than two parents to be registered on a child’s birth records, although discussions are currently ongoing.The judgment builds on the provisions of Quebec’s Bill 2, introduced in 2021 and enacted in June 2022, which introduced comprehensive reforms to the province's family law, particularly concerning filiation and civil status....Traditional legal frameworks assume a two-parent model, but this no longer represents many lived realities, including families formed through surrogacy, same-sex parenting, step-parenting and polyamorous arrangements. In such families, multiple adults may share parental responsibilities and form emotional bonds with the child from birth. Denying legal recognition to all parental figures not only creates legal uncertainty, especially in areas such as inheritance, medical consent and custody, it is also unnecessarily cruel.
.jpg)
Unlike in the US these days, where often "the cruelty is the point."
● And from New Zealand, Polyamorous throuple fight to keep their names on children’s birth certificates (New Zealand Herald, May 10)
...The Attorney-General’s crown counsel, Daniel Perkins, insisted the appeal wasn’t because of the family’s sexual orientation, but simply because it wasn’t possible to have more than two people listed in the system. ...
● From Scotland,
Firefighters’ union branch seeks rights for polyamorous people (The Times, UK, April 4)
The LGBT+ group within the union submitted a motion for discussion at the Scottish Trades Union Congress LGBT+ Workers’ Conference next month calling for the “stigma around polyamory to be challenged”.“There are no legal protections for polyamorous people in Scotland, they can be discriminated [against] at work and in wider society,” it read.
This Legislative Toolkit is designed to advance non-discrimination protections for diverse family and relationship structures. It serves as a resource to empower individuals and organizations who are passionate about creating more inclusive communities through local policy change.
Available in a PDF version and a mobile-friendly version, it's a 55-page slide deck that explains legislative processes, how to build your local support and get legislative sponsors, how to get your procedural ducks in a row (avoid newbie errors; involve the city or town government's legal office before it comes to a vote), and otherwise learn from proven routes to success.
The project was co-produced with four other organizations:
● 25 Years of Polyamory in Cartoons comes from Genevieve (centered below) of the Chill Polyamory YouTube channel. It's the latest in her "non-monogamy
in film & TV" category, rating "who's messy and who gets it
right."
She did serious homework. She examines episodes from The Simpsons,
Bojack Horseman, Bob's Burgers, Young Justice, Steven Universe, Big
Mouth, She-Ra, Rick & Morty, Carol and the End of the World, and
many more. She plots them on a two-axis grid: for treating poly as a
joke vs. seriously, and stupidly vs. poly-savvy. The two axes turn out
to be only weakly correlated. She's smart, quick, has professional
chops as a TV and film producer, and promotes excellent ENM values.
Running time 1 hour 10 minutes, fast-paced throughout.
She's also done 30 Years of Polyamory in Sitcoms (37 minutes).
Here's a heart-to-heart interview she had on Libby Sinback's "Making
Polyamory Work": Community Care with Genevieve of Chill Polyamory
(May 24, 2024). They go deep.
● And finally, humor
in The New Yorker: Films That Have Been Rewritten Now That Everyone Is Talking
About Polyamory
(March 19). It's behind a paywall, but a ctrl-a,c flycast catches the
fish. Excerpts:
By Janet Manley and Sara C. Hahn“Anne of Green Gables” (1985)...Anne embodies the best of chosen-family life and quickly becomes “bosom friends” with another puff-sleeve-coded girl, Diana. Anne and Diana each marry their high-school sweethearts and stay on the island but, after a cordial-wine incident....“Clueless” (1995)An aspiring matchmaker sets up two teachers at her Los Angeles high school and, when romance blossoms, decides to make it more interesting by adding a third. ... Cracks begin to show between Ms. Geist, Mr. Hall, and Coach Stoeger. An epic dodgeball battle ensues. ...“Troy” (2004)After Paris falls in love with Helen, the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta, things almost come to blows, but everyone’s able to negotiate and agree that Helen can spend Tuesdays with Paris, and be with Theseus, Peneleos, Achilles, Deiphobus, and King Menelaus on the other nights of the week, but have Sundays to herself. It’s actually pretty nice to have some time apart and not feel completely beholden to a bunch of emotionally volatile men of Sparta.
“Love Actually” (2003)...Anyway, it’s Christmastime, and everyone’s feeling flirty. ... [Eventually the situation] complicates things immensely for the couple’s therapist, who now has to fit three people into the forty-five-minute slot for the same price....
“Legends of the Fall” (1994)On an isolated ranch in Montana, during the Second World War, a striking woman with untamed hair is brought to the homestead by her husband, the youngest brother of three. ... [Eventually] everyone agrees it would be best if she were to split her time between the haystack back at the ranch and her senator’s-wife life in Helena. ...“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003)Four brave, herb-smoking hobbits go on an epic journey to throw an evil ring into a volcano. ... With the ring destroyed, and trauma sustained, the triumphant hobbit wakes in his bed. The dropouts join him, and his primary looks on with a loving gaze. They all move into the most incredible, antique-filled burrow ever to exist in the Shire. No judgy hobbit can say anything, because they did save Middle-earth. ...“Cast Away” (2000)After the FedEx executive Chuck Noland crashes in the Pacific Ocean and washes ashore on a deserted island, the solo, poly businessman is very open to connecting with others. ... [learning how to make] clear enough smoke signals to convey what you want.“Point Break” (1991)...Can’t men figure this stuff out themselves? ... Bodhi, who runs the surfing gang and the Ex-Presidents, does not fall in love quite so easily, but a three-person romance begins to take shape. A game of flirtatious shark-and-surfer ensues.... [Eventually] they all handcuff themselves to one another and ride that wave. ...
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And a public service announcement:
Saturday June 14 is No Kings Day nationwide!
It's shaping up as our biggest stand to save democracy
yet.
June 14 is Trump's birthday. For the occasion (barely
disguised by Flag Day and the US Army's anniversary), Trump
will march his long-sought giant military parade through streets of the capital the way they do in Russia, China, and
North Korea.
Trump says the parade will “blow everything away,” including the World Cup and the Olympics. The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had this to say when Trump wanted the parade in his first term: “This is what dictators do.”
Dictators put on these displays not to impress foreign adversaries, who already know the military capabilities. The intended audience is
the country's own subjects, who are supposed to be awed into quietude.
But in the US? At least 1,400 NO KINGS DAY rallies and events will also burst forth on June 14. Find yours here. Please show up for democracy's future.
Organizers ask: "Wave your flag like your life depended on it."
Lots of American folx have more than one; there's still time to
get your polyamory flag.
The centerpiece event of the day will be in Philadelphia,
birthplace of American democracy. DC is deliberately being ignored.
Labels: #polyactivism, #polyamorous, #Polyamory, #PolyamoryEvents, #PolyamoryRights, #PolyHumor, #PolyLegal, activism, Canada, humor, legal
posted by Alan |
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