My parents got divorced in 1995 when I was 8 years old. About a year later a man I barely knew moved in with my dad. The situation was not discussed with me honestly until I was sixteen years old. In the meantime, during those awkward seven years, kids at school and sometimes even random adults asked me about my dad. Who is that guy he’s always with? Are they gay? Is it weird? I never knew what to say because all I heard at home were lies. Coming out is hard to do in West Texas, especially to your young daughter who was never taught that being gay isn’t a bad thing.

Even when I was younger I knew I was being lied to, so as I became a teenager I decided for myself that my dad was gay, and that it was time for me to come out of the closet about it. Coming out as someone with gay parents meant finally being able to talk about it openly and honestly with anyone who seemed interested. It also meant that if someone wanted to talk shit about gay people, I had something powerful and unique to counteract it with. When my dad finally became open and honest with me about his sexuality, things were absolutely fabulous for me as queerspawn.

The reason I posted this is because today is the second annual Blogging For Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender (LGBT) Families Day. I’m not looking for sympathy, religious arguments, nor feedback about how well/badly this is written. I just want you to teach your children what is right, fair and equal for the LGBT community. I believe that everyone knows in their hearts that there is not one logical reason a same-sex couple shouldn’t have the same rights a straight couple does.