Did I feel resentment and anger toward my family and society? Absolutely. Would I change a thing? Never.
We’ve heard it before, there are over a thousand protections offered by means of marriage. Those are the protections we want for the ones we love: for our families, our partners, and for our children. If the opposition is so intent with protecting children then all children need to be included – and that means we need protections for the children of same-sex households too.
Ballot Measures and Constitutional Amendments are simply systematic prejudice – and no matter what they dictate, they won’t make same-sex parents and their families disappear. Regardless of the laws, children will continue to be raised in same-sex families, whether protected by the privileges granted by marriage or not. And as long as society condones treating same-sex families as they now are, we will continue to have children of same-sex families living with the same feelings of loneliness and resentment for a society of people who exiled, ignored and discriminated against them.
Finally, I resent being called a social experiment because what I’ve become is a warrior. And although it has been a difficult journey I would do it all over again. Because of my experience with my family and this society, I have learned how to navigate this diverse and often challenging world and to meet it with strength and an open mind.
Our struggle doesn’t end when and if we get the protections of marriage under the guise of a “Civil Union.” We will not stand to be second-class citizens because separate is NOT and will never be and we will refuse to settle for less than absolute equality. Until then, I will continue to fight for the protections of the children whose voices are absent from this debate with the hopes that one day, we will be able to raise children in loving households, in a legally recognized relationship, and in a society that recognizes that we do it out of love.
