You are here:

Relationships at Risk: Why We Need to Update State Parentage Laws to Protect Children and Families (Infographics)

Authors

Movement Advancement Project

The following infographics are drawn from the Relationships at Risk: Why We Need to Update State Parentage Laws to Protect Children and Families, co-authored by the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), COLAGE, Family Equality, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), and NCLR.

Related resources

Family Leave Laws
State family leave laws covering same-sex couples govern whether an LGBT person can take leave from work to care for their same-sex spouse or partner.
Parental Recognition Laws
Legal recognition of the parent-child relationship ("parentage") is important for many reasons, from healthcare decisions and school settings to economic security, everyday life, and much more. These maps illustrate some of the pathways to parental recognition that are especially important for LGBTQ families.
Religious Exemptions
State religious exemption laws permit people, churches, non-profit organizations, and sometimes corporations to seek exemptions from state laws that burden their religious beliefs. These laws have recently been used as a defense when businesses discriminate against or refuse service to LGBTQ customers and same-sex couples.
Marriage & Relationship Recognition
States with the freedom to marry do not ban same-sex couples from entering into legal marriages. However, most states still have constitutional amendments, statutes, or both banning marriage for same-sex couples, even after the 2015 Supreme Court case Obergefell extended marriage equality nationwide.
Targeted: Marriage Solemnization by Public Officials
LGBTQ People
LGBTQ people in the United States have families, work hard to earn a living, pay taxes, and serve their communities and their country. MAP offers a collection of resources addressing the many aspects of LGBTQ people’s lives.
LGBTQ Families
LGBTQ families are part of the fabric of neighborhoods and communities across the United States. An estimated two million children are being raised by LGBTQ parents. Decades of research shows that children with LGBTQ parents grow up as happy, healthy and well-adjusted as their peers.
Adoption
There are more than 440,000 children in foster care across the country, with more than 125,000 children waiting to be adopted. LGBTQ people have long served as foster and adoptive parents. Research shows they are more likely to foster or adopt than their peers. Despite this, some states have passed
Talking About Family Recognition Laws & LGBTQ Families
Family recognition laws establish a secure legal relationship between a child and their parent or parents. Learn conversation approaches that help people understand why strong legal child-parent ties are essential to a child’s security and well-being and why families—no matter how they are formed—should be treated equally under the law.

Join Our Community

Get research updates, stories, and ways to support.