My name is Zan Rabney, and I am thirteen years old. I was born at Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan, and I have lesbian parents. My mom Randy gave birth to me and my mom Fran legally adopted me right before my first birthday. I am told that my mom Fran was in the room when I was born and that she wanted a baby for a very long time. My parents were together for ten years before I was born.
When I was two and a half, my family moved to Maplewood, New Jersey. For many years my parents have been viewed as legal strangers, even though we and everyone around us knew we were a family. My parents had a civil union and were married in Massachusetts. We didn’t even have marriage equality in New Jersey until this past month.
On a daily basis we do the same stuff other families do but did not have the rights of straight families. I’ve been told in school by kids that my parents will go to hell because they choose to be homosexual. It disgusts me that people would think that way about my family and families like mine when they have no experience with us. The person in school used her “religious” beliefs to fuel her wretched argument.
I am receiving an education about equality. I am told to respect everyone for their beliefs unless their beliefs are of hatred. If marriage equality was everywhere then fewer people would feel the need to comment about LGBT families. I don’t need this distraction during the school day; distractions like this are why I sought help from my guidance counselor. That is just one example of what tons of other kids go through every day, which is why I’m writing this post—to inspire anyone and everyone who reads this to stand up for equality.