LGBT youth homelessness is an extraordinary problem, and advocates trying to treat the symptoms are saying that LGBT rights organizations and allies are not doing enough to address it. At a panel discussion in New York City last night entitled “Sleeping in the Streets or Walking Down the Aisle? Prioritizing LGBT Youth in Our Struggle for Equality,” panelists discussed the scourge of homelessness and how little attention it’s getting:

CARL SICILIANO (Ali Forney Center): I am proud to be part of the gay rights movement. I’m not proud of what we’ve done for our young people. We can do better. … We have to acknowledge we are in an adult-centric movement.

LEW FIDLER (New York City Councilmember): A responsible adult doesn’t leave a child sleeping on a subway grate at night.

KAI WRIGHT (Journalist): The problem is a handful of people in the queer movement who try to build a more positive space are small, underfunded, and not supported.

TOBIAS WOLFF (University of Pennsylvania Law Professor): [Unlike passing marriage equality or repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell,] this is an ongoing issue we’re going to have to continue engaging with.

It is estimated that 20-40 percent of all homeless youth are LGBT even though only 5-10 percent of youth are LGBT. This disproportionately high number is very much due to family conflict and abuse that leaves the youth feeling unsafe or unwelcome in their homes. There is also systemic discrimination and oversight in child welfare systems and homelessness programs. Unsurprisingly, the compounded discrimination leads to severe physical and mental health disparities for these youth.

Currently, there is very little support to address LGBT youth homelessness. New York City’s Ali Forney Center offers 57 beds, but its executive director, Carl Siciliano, is fighting desperately to keep Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) from cutting its funding in the state budget. Shelters in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Detroit offer an additional 10-20 beds each. At best, there are 200 beds available each night nationwide for the hundreds of thousands of LGBT homeless youth, who often find other shelters to be unsafe because of bullying and harassment from other residents.

In 2009, a Pew poll showed that more Americans perceive the LGBT community to be discriminated against than any other group. The progress of issues like marriage equality and nondiscrimination protections may help reverse this trend (thanks to millions of dollars channeled into advocacy campaigns) and minimize the impact of stigma, but in the mean time, LGBT homeless youth continue to struggle to find the support they need to survive.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) condemned Rick Santorum’s suggestion on Monday that gay people aren’t entitled to the “privilege” of parenthood, telling bloggers and reporters on a conference call attended by ThinkProgress that the comments were “hurtful” and “not constructive.” Pelosi is also co-sponsoring Rep. Pete Stark’s (D-CA) Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which would “ban discrimination in adoption or foster care placement based on the sexual orientation, marital status or gender identity of the potential parent, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child.” Here is how she responded to Santorum’s remarks:

PELOSI: Pete Stark introduced a bill, in effect withholding funds from states that do not respect parenthood for gay people. There are six states plus the District of Columbia that allow both gay parents, a large number of other states have one parent. [...]

I can’t say that Santorum’s remarks surprise me, but it never fails to disappoint in a new fresh way every time you hear the proposals that they make. We have fought so long for gay people to adopt, or have foster children, have loving homes and the rest and for some reason there is some in the Congress or in the country which have not seen the wisdom of that. But the comments are hurtful, not constructive, and I don’t know how far this bill will go, but it will give us a place to continue the discussion about why gay people should be able to…adopt.

Santorum made the comments in Iowa City, Iowa at a forum sponsored by the anti-gay FAMiLY Leader, during which he also argued that children do better in households headed by two parents. But since Santorum opposes same-sex marriage and even civil unions, he seems to prefer that there be no obligation toward children on behalf of gay parents who are currently not the legal parents of their children because their relationships are not recognized by the law.

With Republican majorities in their legislatures, Minnesota and Pennsylvania are pushing for constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage, even though there are already restrictive laws in both states:

- MINNESOTA: Republicans have fast-tracked a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. It passed out of committees in the Senate on Friday and the House on Monday. It will likely pass floor votes in both chambers, and the governor cannot veto a proposed referendum. Still, there has been compelling testimony against it, such as that from Madeline Koch, a self-identified heterosexual Republican, and Rep. Steve Simon (DFL), who asked, “How many gay people must God create before we accept that he wants them around?”

- NEW YORK: Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) continues to advocate for marriage equality, saying he’s “optimistic” it’ll pass. Business leaders and clergy from across the state have also offered their support.

- PENNSYLVANIA: A longtime opponent of gay rights, Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R), has introduced an amendment to the State Constitution, claiming that President Obama, bureaucrats, and special interests forced his hand. Same-sex marriage is already barred by Pennsylvania law. An amendment would need to pass the legislature in two consecutive terms and then pass a state referendum to become law.

- RHODE ISLAND: Following House Speaker Gordon Fox’s (D) announcement that he would put forth a civil unions bill instead of a marriage equality bill, advocates and opponents in the state are trying to reconcile whether the votes were there or not. Neither side is thrilled with the civil unions “compromise,” with both the Catholic diocese rejecting the bill and marriage equality supporters protesting it.

- TENNESSEE: While a bill that would overturn Nashville’s non-discrimination ordinance has been delayed another week, tomorrow the Senate will vote on the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill. There is not enough time for the bill to pass the House this year, but activists have been protesting that the bill is being considered at all.

- TEXAS: A bill that would ban transgender marriage seems stalled for the legislative session, but an anti-bullying bill has advanced, though it does not provide specific protections for LGBT youth. Meanwhile, the budget passed by the House contains an amendment that would essentially force the elimination of university gender and sexuality centers that provide important academic and social support for LGBT students at Texas’ public schools.

Keep track of how LGBT issues are advancing in the states at our State LGBT Watch.

Yesterday, Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) introduced the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which would “ban discrimination in adoption or foster care placement based on the sexual orientation, marital status or gender identity of the potential parent, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child.” The measure has attracted 33 Democratic co-sponsors in the House, and “Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) will introduce a companion bill in the Senate in the coming weeks.”

Stark told the Huffington Post’s Amanda Terkel that “homophobic opposition that has tried to decide that gay people aren’t suitable adoptive parents” motivated him to offer the measure, and when Terkel asked the Congressman about former Sen. Rick Santorum’s (R-PA) recent suggestion that gay people aren’t entitled to the “privilege” of parenthood — as we reported yesterday — Stark harshly condemned the remarks:

“I take exception to that,” Stark told The Huffington Post. “We have a tremendous need for adoptive parents in this country. We’ve got thousands of kids who would otherwise be stuck in foster care, which isn’t a very good place for them to end up. This is a human rights issue.” … “I think he’s crazy,” Stark said. “I don’t know where he comes up with those ideas.”

Indeed, numerous studies dispute the notion that kids fare better in heterosexual households, pointing out that children with same-sex parents show no significant differences compared with children in different-sex households. A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics, found that “children raised by lesbian mothers — whether the mother was partnered or single — scored very similarly to children raised by heterosexual parents on measures of development and social behavior.” The researchers also found that “children in lesbian homes scored higher than kids in straight families on some psychological measures of self-esteem and confidence, did better academically and were less likely to have behavioral problems, such as rule-breaking and aggression.”

Several states, however, have recently passed legislation restricting adopt by gay parents. Virginia’s State Board of Social Services recently rejected “adding protections against discrimination in adoption proceedings on the basis of sexual orientation” and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) signed Senate Bill 1188, requiring state-funded and private adoption agencies “to give primary consideration to adoptive placement with a married man and woman, with all other criteria being equal.”

Terkel notes that the prospects for Stark’s bill are slim. “Currently, there are no GOP co-sponsors, although Stark said he has heard from a few Republicans who may support it. “