She is the face of the future concerning the gay and lesbian partnership/marriage issue. Her mothers are lesbians. One of her mothers is my sister.
This issue has not been front and center for lots of reasons this year. Sure Bush pushed for a Marriage Amendment that would deny rights to gays and lesbians. And sure there are eleven states that are voting for similar issues. But the issue hasn't caught on and it should. We should plaster little Jillian's picture all over as an example of why we should fight for this issue, because it is all about getting children good and caring parents who have the state behind the durable relationships they fight for.
Unfortunately, defending that viewpoint can get a boy in trouble, at least in Missouri it can. Even though all other students are allowed to advertise their support of the ballot amendmant that is palpably against gays, young Brad Matthewson has been censored:
Mathewson was sent to the principal’s office by his homeroom teacher on October 20 after she spotted his t-shirt. The shirt bears the name of the Gay-Straight Alliance at his old high school in Fayetteville, Arkansas (FHS Gay-Straight Alliance), a pink triangle, and the words, "Make a Difference!" When an assistant principal saw it, he told Mathewson to go home and change shirts because someone might be offended by it. Although Mathewson pointed out the anti-gay marriage stickers seen throughout the school, his concerns were ignored. Mathewson was again disciplined when he came to school on October 27 wearing a t-shirt featuring a rainbow and the phrase, "I’m gay and I’m proud."
"Even though nobody complained about my t-shirts, my school told me I couldn’t wear them just because someone might get offended," said Mathewson, a junior at Webb City High School. "But every day I see students at my school with anti-gay stickers on their notebooks and sometimes on their shirts, and I find that offensive. I understand that they have a right to express what they think, but I have a right to do the same thing."
What a bright kid. I'd like to invite him to write here on ASZ, because this kid can definitely detect hypocrisy and put it back in their faces.
We've got a long way to work even after this election, folks.
