Family...

I have stated many times (not here) how I see my family and what I have will piss of the Right wing republicans to no end. I have what they see as the "American Family". Lets take a look. I am in a loving, caring, monogamous relationship with the same person for more than seven years. We have a two car garage and a white picket fence. Our family consist of two loving and caring parents whose main purpose in life is to see their daughter grow up to be happier than they are. We have a beautiful little girl that make us happy, joyous, filled with love, and leaves a smile on our faces on a daily basis. We are starting the process of having another baby and this makes us happy and terrifies us. We have three wonderful dogs and one crazy cat. We live in a small town where everyone knows us and likes us. We work (well Mark does) and we pay our taxes. So what can possible be wrong? What can make people so mad and angry?

What makes them angry is the fact that we are two men. We are two men that care more about each other than 50% of the heterosexual married couples (possibly more) in our society. These are the ones that will end in divorce. These are the ones that swore under their god that they will love, honor, and cherish until death do they part. Why is it then that when I love someone as much as I love Mark and with as much hatred in the world, how did we become the evil ones?

To give you an idea of how evil some people think we are, Oklahoma tried to pass a law that had the potential to make children adopted by same-sex couples in other states legal orphans when the families are in Oklahoma. What did this mean? If Mark and I went to Oklahoma and Mikayla got sick, while in the hospital neither Mark or I would be able to see her. They would be able to ban us from going into her room and the state could also take her away from us. Is this right? Some people think yes. A federal court struck down the law, but some say that non-elected judges should not decide things of this matter. These are our elected officials as well as some people that are running for president.

So when asked why we live in Vermont and not elsewhere, take a look at your laws and tell me how my family is protected. Can I marry (Massachusetts) or have a civil union (Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut with more to come) or just live my life the way I am now without the possibility of harassment and ridicule. Is my daughter going to grow up with an understanding that the world is full of people that live different lives or will she be stereotyped into what people think she should be since she is African American. Here in Vermont she is Mikayla, daughter of Paul and Mark – Nothing Else!!