We Are Family

I got a very, very excited call early this afternoon from a good friend of mine. Proposition 8 had just been overturned and the world got a little more secure for my friend's family. Obviously, there will be an appeal -- that was clear as soon as the judge put pen to paper (well, probably long before that) -- but this judge systematically destroyed proponents' of the ban arguments. Now, I don't mean for this to be a political blog (and I honor the fact that others disagree with me on this topic) but it's another one of those landmark moments that I feel should be singled out as significant in my children's early lives.

My closest friend here is a lesbian and a fantastic parent to her son. Her wife is also a wonderful mom and he's a great kid with lots of "stability" and "responsibility" in his family and he lives within an "enduring family structure". Trying to argue that these characteristics are universally more present in opposite-sex couples versus same-sex couples is, to me, confusing and a case of erroneous logic (not to mention without legal merit, according to Judge Walker). Molly's buddy is a lucky kid no matter how you slice it. One of the big reasons that the former Midwesterners live on this side of the border is because they get to be a family no matter where they go. They don't have to worry about going from one state to another and suddenly losing the rights that they just had 20 seconds ago. They're not confronted with the legal and emotional ramifications of being denied equal rights. They don't have to worry that their son's non-biological mom may not have a claim to her own child should something happen to his biological mom. They are simply a family doing family things and they do it with lots of love for not only their own kids but my two kids as well.

This was a big day for them, as I'm sure it was for bazillions of other couples throughout the country. I was honored to be able to share in their happiness and hear the relief in my friend's voice. She's a mom, her wife is a mom and today they got one step closer to simply being a family wherever they walk.