A Family Values Approach to Marriage Equality

After marriage equality lost a bruising California campaign, one question stood out: where are the gay families? In multi-million dollar TV ads, LBGT families were defined in abstentia by both proponents and opponents of marriage equality.

Not anymore. 

In California, dozens of LBGT groups and straight allies converged as www.outwestcoalition.org and convened OUTWest Boot Camp at USC, where speakers (including yours truly) focused on showcasing loving families in order to advance the cause. We discussed the need to assert our loving relationships, rights, and responsibilities. We stressed the need to tell our personal stories.

Today, one of those stories has been illuminated by filmmmakers at truthandhope.org. Their voices for equality video, viewable at their homepage, tells the story of two adorable children, their loving fathers, and doting grandparents.  

Truthandhope descries this as the first in "a series of ads which will be produced across the state, reaching out to every geographic area & demographic with specific targeted media which shares the real stories of friends, neighbors, co-workers & family members so that the issue of equality is properly framed for what it is: a progressive issue, a Democratic issue, a human issue." 

As a new parent myself, I found the images moving and applaud the effort to take back the debate with a family values approach to marriage equality. As the grandfather says in the video, "it may not be the family we had imagined, but it is the family we have and love."

Check out the www.truthandhope.org video and join the movement for equality. Change is possible -- it begins with us telling our stories.

Follow Christine Pelosi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sfpelosi

Comments

[Rebecca Landrum]

09:58 AM on 11/08/2009

with divorce rates so high - you would think that the conservatives would vote for gay marriage just to pump up America's shameful statistics that show just how much our current system is letting down it's wards.

[LMPE]

01:51 PM on 09/23/2009

Lidlock the world's homophobes a la "A Clockwork Orange" and make them watch every gay movie. See how long they survive.

[Geoffreys]

05:55 PM on 09/22/2009

Over our past 21 years, my partner and I have changed many different people's minds simply by being open about who we really are. For decades, my brethren and sistren have been examples on an individual basis .

I'm very happy to see that we are moving ourselves onto a larger stage. I'm tired of our public face still being the likes of Marc St James from Ugly Betty (Full Disclosure: Ugly Betty is Fabulous).

I agree we need more visible examples of family. We need more real world examples of lesbian couples raising their children or a gay guy caring for his sick mother-in-law ...

Thank you for highlighting this.

[hardcorelib]

09:46 AM on 09/23/2009

Thank you also. I have been in a relationship (marriage if we could have gotten married) for over 30 years. People need to be out so that the religious wrong cannot demonize us any longer. It is terribly frustrating to still be third class citizens and pay 1st class taxes. Unfortunately, religion is the main cause to our inequality which is a ridiculous statement in itself since religion is supposed to be about love, blah, blah, blah..

[Hal Donahue]

03:31 PM on 09/22/2009

Thank you Christine! The time is long past for this prejudice and hate to continue. I am proud to stand with them, you and the Democratic Party