Re: This and that

In Matt’s recent “This and that” post, he touched upon new bill introduced in the Tennessee legislature which immediately reminded me of a post I recently read that The Republic of T. I would offer my own thoughts on the matter, but Terrance does it just fine without me cluttering up his words:

Children do think about these things, and work them out in their minds. A few years ago, one of Parker’s classmates was trying to wrap his mind around the reality that Parker had a Daddy and Papa at home instead of a Mommy and Daddy. Clearly, at first, he couldn’t imagine it any other way. At one point he said to Parker, “Parker, I have a mommy and a daddy.” And Parker answered back, confidently, “Well, I have a daddy and a papa!” That was pretty much the end of it. That child is one of Parker’s best friends, and was almost as excited about Parker getting a little brother as Parker himself was.

Terrance brings to the surface that which should already be obvious: the lives of gay and transgender people are not up for debate or vote. They are real and they are happening in every community. Polling numbers of national acceptance of marriage rights for gay couples does not change the reality of households headed by gay couples. School board decisions on library books do not affect the reality of children who have gay or trans parents. Sex-ed curricula do not create or eradicate the existence of gay and trans teens. It is important, imperative even, that gay and trans folks continue to be visible and vocal members of their community. Our fellow citizens already love us, some of them just don’t know it yet.

Read the rest of T’s post here.If you haven’t found it already, I highly recommend you add Republic of T to your reading list; it is a personal look at the realities of a gay family: raising children, eating healthy, interacting with the government, and just generally going through life. Share your thoughts with how being a visible part of the community has affected the attitudes of those around you over at Republic of T and also here!

Posted in LGBT Families, Politics |