Marriage Equality Rally

One of the downsides to the election was that Proposition 8 passed in California, which erased the marriage rights for several thousand gay and lesbian couples in that state. It made the election results very bittersweet, especially because Arkansas also passed a proposition that essentially banned gay and lesbians from adopting (it banned single people from adopting and so also effects straight people).

In response to the passage of Prop 8, the gay and lesbian community came together to plan rallies for Marriage Equality to be held on November 15 at noon. One of these rallies was planned for St. Louis and so Lawrence, William, and I headed downtown to support our peeps and families like our own.

It was a very cold day, very cold, and yet a couple hundred people came out to speak out and give voice to our community. We met up with our friends...Gary, Jamie, Jelena, Ian, Charisse...and froze our butts off.
William was very unsure of this whole concept of standing around listening to people speak into a bullhorn about the rights of gays and lesbians. As a typical nine year old, he was initially intrigued and then the novelty quickly wore off and he was ready to go home. However, when we first got there he looked around at all the people that were of all different ages, gender, race, and income levels and said in the typical loud William voice- "Are all these people gay?" Yes, little man most of them are gay, but not all.

It was one of those activities that most kids don't experience. Looking around I didn't see any other kids in attendance. It's hard to know how exposure to this type of event will impact him in the long run, but hopefully it opens his mind and makes him a more accepting person. I think that sometimes kids that have been through what William has been through often close off their world because it is safer. They wall themselves off because change and differences can overwhelm them. My hope is that William, through therapy and our support and love, will be able to open himself up to different experiences and people. I want him to embrace a world that is different than him and not to shut it out.

Exposing him to events such as this is the first step...

But for now, let's get out of the cold. =)