I was perusing Reddit yesterday when I came across the picture featured above. Zach Wahls, who gave a very heartfelt speech at the Democratic National Convention the other day, was raised by two lesbian mothers. During Zach Wahls DNC speech, he remembers seeing the 2004 Republican National Convention, and recalls hearing politicians talk about protecting marriage from “families like his”. He was 12 at the time, and still he remembers wondering why those politicians thought his family wasn’t a real family. He was a Boy Scout (making it all the way to Eagle), he went to church, and ate dinner with his family like so many others. His description was not only that of a ideal American family, but much nicer than probably many Americans are lucky enough to have.
This point made some Reddit users in the comment section question Romney’s definition of a “normal family”. After all, so many Americans grow up without a mother and a father. Some of the reasons listed include divorce, death or illness of a parent, and adoption by a single parent. Are their families somehow substandard to those who have the conventional two parents of the opposite-sex?
Redditor melikeybacon made this comment:
I was raised by three women. My mom, grandma and sister (4 years older). They each seemed to have an important role in my life. As a 29-year-old man I hold a government job, been with my gf for five years (today!), and love sports and stuff guys usually do.
As I type this it makes me angry to think I’ve never considered these arguments of needing “a family as loving and committed as his with a mother and father” to be directed at me. Now that I do I want to punch every person that uses this argument in the face!
His comment caused some other users to comment on their own non-traditional childhoods, such as in this comment by user Combicritter:
I was raised by two women – my mother and grandmother because my father walked out. I guess my family is wrong as well. What an ignorant man, who thinks only his circumstances and choices are the right ones.
Of course we all know that Romney’s only intended target is homosexuals, but it’s interesting how many people his views affect when you take out the “gay” part. Why not outlaw divorce? Or make it illegal for people to get pregnant without being married? It’s hypocritical for Romney to target one aspect of non-traditional marriage and not the others, especially when there are more than enough examples of gay couples with children who turn out perfectly fine.
It would be nice if more people saw Romney’s views on gay marriage the same way some of these Reddit users seem them. Romney may have grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth and in very traditional surroundings, but the truth is, America is a country where traditional values shouldn’t be forced upon anyone. We make our own traditions here, and it is not his right to define for America what a good family is and a bad one. People can choose to not agree with gay marriage because their religion doesn’t accept it. That’s fine. The government and politicians who run it have no place in denying homosexuals these rights merely on what their religions say.
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