How the Fight for Same-Sex Marriage Affects Children

How the Fight for Same-Sex Marriage Affects Children
“Mom, what’s Proposition 47 about?” My 10-year-old son asked this as we drove past a house bedecked with election signs.

“I’m not sure yet. I need to look into it,” I answered.

“What about Prop 46? Are you voting yes or no?” he pressed.

“I haven’t decided yet. First I need to read the propositions, then I need to read the debates about them, then I’ll decide how to vote,” I explained.

“Can I vote?” he asked.

He already knew he couldn’t vote, so I offered, “You can fill out my sample ballot, if you’d like.”

“Cool,” he said. “When?”

I chuckled.

“What? Why are you laughing?” he asked.

“I just love that you’re interested in politics,” I said.

But really I was laughing because in my head I was hearing a ghoulish voiceover: Mwahahaha! From the compost heap of rotting Proposition 8 signs grows a dangerous menace: my sons.

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Like many kids who have same-sex parents, my 8- and 10-year-old sons were born into the marriage equality movement, into court battles and legislation, into triumphant wins and heartbreaking losses, into the rise and fall of California’s same-sex marriage ban, Proposition 8 and beyond. They’re seasoned activists, in second and fourth grade.

For children like mine, politics have never been anything but deeply personal and compelling, something you throw yourself into, body and soul.

They have learned some tough lessons along the way:

• People fear what they don’t understand.
• People write unfair laws.
• People vote for unfair laws.
• People lie during campaigns and win that way.

They have also learned some empowering truths:

• Stand up for your beliefs.
• Your voice matters.
• Even when you lose, celebrate what you have gained.
• Don’t give up.
• Love is stronger than hate.
• Justice prevails.

These lessons, and my kids’ passion for politics, have outlived Proposition 8, and they will outlive our country’s few remaining same-sex marriage bans. While it hasn’t been easy raising kids (or growing up) in the crosshairs of a civil rights struggle, I am grateful for the outcome: the marriage equality movement has spawned a new generation of engaged, informed, empowered, determined, politically active citizens who will continue to demand justice for all.

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This post originally appeared on VillageQ.

Photo Credit: Cheryl Dumesnil

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www.huffingtonpost.com/cheryl-dumesnil/how-the-marriage-equality_b_7026492.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

President Obama Supports Efforts to Ban Harmful LGBTQ 'Conversion Therapy' for Minors

President Obama Supports Efforts to Ban Harmful LGBTQ 'Conversion Therapy' for Minors

The White House tonight responded to a “We the People” petition urging the government to”Enact Leelah’s Law to Ban All LGBTQ+ Conversion Therapy” after it reached more than 120,000 signatures.

Blue_obamaA quote from President Obama was included with the White House response:

“Tonight, somewhere in America, a young person, let’s say a young man, will struggle to fall to sleep, wrestling alone with a secret he’s held as long as he can remember. Soon, perhaps, he will decide it’s time to let that secret out. What happens next depends on him, his family, as well as his friends and his teachers and his community. But it also depends on us — on the kind of society we engender, the kind of future we build.”

Said White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett:

We share your concern about its potentially devastating effects on the lives of transgender as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer youth…As part of our dedication to protecting America’s youth, this Administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors…This Administration believes that young people should be valued for who they are, no matter what they look like, where they’re from, the gender with which they identify, or who they love.

The White House statement adds:

“As part of their duty to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens, several states have taken their own steps to protect minors from the potentially dangerous effects of conversion therapy. California, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia have all banned licensed professionals from using conversion therapy on minors. Since last year, lawmakers in 18 other states have introduced similar legislation.

In a 2013 signing statement for his state’s legislative ban, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie expressed that “exposing children to these health risks without clear evidence of the benefits that outweigh these serious risks is not appropriate.”[3] In February 2015, a New Jersey Superior Court judge ruled that advertising a service that could change a person’s sexuality is fraudulent and violates the state’s consumer protection laws.

While a national ban would require congressional action, we are hopeful that the clarity of the evidence combined with the actions taken by these states will lead to broader action that this Administration would support.

BREAKING: President Obama supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors → t.co/TAZqqDxwd9 #LeelahsLaw

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 9, 2015

The petition was named for Leelah Alcorn, who took her own life in December by walking in front of a semi truck near her home outside Cincinnati. After Alcorn’s parents refused to allow her to begin transitioning when she turned 16, she decided to come out as gay.

The NYT adds:

Officials also announced the creation of an “all-gender restroom” in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where many of the White House staff members work, to provide an additional option for transgender individuals who are not comfortable using either the men’s or women’s restrooms.


Andy Towle

www.towleroad.com/2015/04/whconversion.html

Obama calls for end to conversion therapies for LGBT youth

Obama calls for end to conversion therapies for LGBT youth
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama called on Wednesday for an end to psychiatric therapies that seek to change the sexual orientation of gay, lesbian and transgender youth, the White House said.

reuters.us.feedsportal.com/c/35217/f/654201/s/453a786e/sc/7/l/0L0Sreuters0N0Carticle0C20A150C0A40C0A90Cus0Eusa0Eobama0Egay0EidUSKBN0AN0A0A0AR20A150A40A90DfeedType0FRSS0GfeedName0FdomesticNews/story01.htm