Nice to see a parent showing support for their child even at the possibility it may cost him an election.


Republican Mayor Jerry Sanders of San Diego has reversed his opposition to gay marriage, and on Wednesday (September 19th) signed a City Council resolution supporting a challenge to California's ban on same-sex marriage. Sanders had previously said he'd veto the resolution, and during his election campaign two years ago said he opposed gay marriage, while backing civil unions for same-sex couples. Sanders explained his decision in an emotional press conference in which he said he could no longer back his previous position, revealing that his adult daughter Lisa is a lesbian, and than he wants her and other gay people he knows to have their equal protection for their relationships. Fighting back tears, and with his wife at his side, Sanders said, "In the end, I could not look any of them in the face and tell them that their relationships -- their very lives -- were any less meaningful than the marriage that I share with my wife Rana." A spokesman for Sanders, who's up for re-election next year, said Lisa had told her parents four years ago that she's a lesbian, but that her orientation hadn't been public until now.

So he changes a deeply held moral conviction, because his own child can't follow it?

It's called unconditional love. Whether your child is gay or not.

You're a parent. You have mentioned your special needs child, thank God you're there for them.

It may cost him an election.

In a perfect world, it would win him one.

In backasswards San Diego, it will cost him. No big deal though, as it's better to stand up for what's right than to win an election. It's just unfortunate it took a personal experience for him to understand how mean spirited and unconstitutional these same sex marriage bans are, and that those that back them are bigots.

and up next, we'll hear from the Vice President of the United States.

Cheney: "No Comment"

Breaking News!

This just in from Cheney: "Go F*** Yourself!"

Again?!!

You can still love your child, and not agree with all the decisions they make. My oldest's first husband was a real jerk, and I couldnt stand him. I still loved her, and when she finally saw the light after finding he was having an affair, she left him. And now is married to a army sgt.

If your child becomjes a muslum, do you become a muslum?

Nwokie writes:
If your child becomjes a muslum, do you become a muslum?

No, but the mayor of San Diego isn't turning gay, either. If there were a law against religious freedom for muslims and your child became muslim, you just might change your mind about the law, eh?

It is interesting how people, when confronted with "moral issues" in their own family, can have a change of heart about them. A very religious woman I know has a very troubled daughter. Drug addict, several abortions. Then got into rocky marriage and had two kids. Not a good mother. When the daughter got pregnant yet again, the mother amazingly had a change of heart about abortion, after a lifetime of opposition, and drove her daughter to the abortion clinic.

It's quite easy to take harsh stances on moral issues when you don't have to deal with them in your own life.

Andrew

Nwokie-
Having a lesbian or gay child is far cry from being in a bad marriage or becoming a different religion. My parents had to deal with my sister coming out. She has been in her relationship now 19 years. Though my parents struggled with it to begin with, they eventually sought advice from other parents they knew whose kids were gay. Also my dad is clergy so there comes even a greater stigma to our family.

Thankfully my folks and our family took the high road. My sister and her partner raised two children who are now in their 20s and on their own. My sister's realationship isn't seen as "different" even though we have some very conservative family members, their relationship has been a blessing to many of us.

As parents we're going to have differences with our kids, but as long as they know we love them, that gives them a solid foundation to fall back too. Particularly when a marriage falls apart and your gut told you so. That must have been a painful thing to watch your daughter go through.

Sexualty can't be changed like a religion can.

Wow. For once I completely agree with Vitalogy: Sexualty can't be changed like a religion can.

Very correct. A man is a man and a woman is a woman and they are meant for each other.

You are born either male or female. There is no "other" or third choice.

This rules out "Oh, I was born a man in a woman's body, so into the operating room I go" and vice versa.

Period. Finito.

Skybill ever hear of a hermaphrodite?

Well, yeah. But that is a birth defect.

It leads a whole new meaning to the saying; go....nevermind, strike that thought.

I used to be against legalized gay relationships of any sort.

Then some people I cared about came out of the closet, and I got to know some other uncloseted gay folks, too.

When you decide that you're for love and committment and against hate and prejudice, you just find yourself coming down on the side of legalized relationships for both gay and straight people.

I find it comes down the the consitutional issues of violating someone's civil rights when the government extends rules to some but not all.

Absolutely true.

I had the exact same experience, over and over.

As a young kid, meeting Black and Hispanic people was different. At first, they seemed wrong, or less, or something not good. Going to school, playing on the playground, and doing things showed me they were no different than I was.

Later, having friends come out worked the same way. It's bizzare to be somewhere talking with somebody, who you know well, only to find out they have been living a lie. When they look at you and apologize, express their anger and confusion over why they are the way they are, I see nobody would choose that.

Who chooses who they are attracted to? I look at women and some have that spark and others don't. I know I didn't choose that. I don't know anybody that did!

There is always somebody different. We always tend to avoid dealing with that. Maybe it's just easier to be intolerant than it is to grok people.

So, we went from men -vs- women, to race -vs- race, gay -vs- straight, trannie -vs- gender norm, to what?

How many of these silly cycles are we going to have to go through, as a people, before we just deal and realize we are all just people in the end?

I don't think I'm gonna go through another cycle of this. People are people now. Lesson learned, so it's on to some other tough lesson. Life is too short to keep spinning those wheels.

I'm not sure why humans on this planet still have to look at humans pee-pees and put them in judgemental classifications. We're still a bunch of numbskulls.

No wonder otherworldly intelligent beings don't get out of their UFOs when they pass by here. They're afraid we'll look for their sex organs and try to decide which of them are "normal" and which are "perverse".

Sickos, we are.

What about those of us who don't have a pee-pee?


Mrs. Hoo-Hoo

Skybill: "Wow. For once I completely agree with Vitalogy: Sexualty can't be changed like a religion can."

Um, I don't think you are in agreement. Don't confuse sex (gender) with sexuality:

sex·u·al·i·ty –noun

1. sexual character
2. recognition of or emphasis upon sexual matters.
3. involvement in sexual activity.
4. an organism's preparedness for engaging in sexual activity.

Sexuality is about how you have sex, not which sex you are.