Let's Celebrate Families
Our friends at Mombian (Sustenance for Lesbian Moms) have proclaimed today, June 1st, as day to honor gay and lesbian families. And while we at Grrrlville try to cheer for such families every day, we also never ever ever forgo an opportunity to celebrate.
We live in Texas, a state that provides very limited legal foothold for a lesbian family such as ours. In the last round of elections, Texans voted for an anti-gay-marriage amendment, even though one already existed in the state law. In Houston, even the City Comptroller (similar to a deputy mayor) could not do a second parent adoption in our county.
Despite the stodginess of Texas politics, we as a family feel very fortunate. As a child, I can remember making an important announcement to my family. I told them that when I grew up, instead of having children, I would have puppies. Everyone laughed and imagined bizarre scenes from B-movies about aliens. For decades, I could not imagine how it would be possible for me to become a parent. And yet: I am a parent. Marcia and I have two healthy, beautiful human children. Our extended families are warm, supportive, and embracing of us. Our neighbors have more-than-accepted us as we are.
Marcia and I have made extra efforts to protect the children legally in the ways that seem to us in their best interest. It has been expensive, but we have managed it. We had to drive across the state, but we did the second parent adoption for Pearl two years ago, and Carrie's is scheduled for next month. We have updated wills and other legal documents. The situation is not ideal, but the joy overpowers the unfairness on a daily basis.
Personally, I would not have chosen to make gay marriage THE issue involving gay and lesbian equal rights. Maybe I'm just a weenie, but I'm not one of those people who ever dreamed of getting married. I always imagined falling in love and being in a partnership, but the wedding ceremony itself never appealed to me. In terms of the current political situation, my belief is simply that the laws should be fair. Gay and straight partners should receive equal treatment in the law, and the children in their families should not suffer, due to lack of legal protection, benefits, and so on. Whether the partnership is called marriage, civil union, domestic partnership, or Night of the Living Dead, that's not my issue.
If you'd like to Blog for GLBT Families on your blog, please join us. Mombian.com has all the information that you will need. Happy Family Day to you!
