Mary Cheney Speaks Up

Mary Cheney spoke publicly for the first time about her decision to become pregnant. The New York Times has the full story, including her assertion: “This is a baby. This is a blessing from God. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate by people on either side of an issue. It is my child.” She also said same-sex-parenting “research” from conservative groups like Focus on the Family was distorted.

I was going to write a post about how I agree with Mary for the first time, but Terrance has done it for me. For all of us, in fact. It’s a terrific post on the interweaving of the personal and political.

His central premise parallels something I said in my Bay Windows column this week. Terrance writes:

. . . maybe becoming parents makes us more political as a necessity, because caring about our children makes it necessary to become advocates for our families, and engaged in our communities. Even that’s not so much political as it is part and parcel of commitment to family.

I said:

I sometimes resent having to teach people things [about LGBT families] I find self evident. At the same time, I knew what I was signing up for when I chose to become a parent. LGBT parents share the same burden as those who differ by reason of race, religion, physical ability or other factors. It may not be how we’d prefer to spend our time, but, like changing diapers or chaperoning field trips, it’s one of those parenting duties we assume because it is for our children’s benefit.

Must be something in the air. Breathe deeply.