Speaking Out: McKinley BarbouRoske on Her Two Moms

Today, March 26, and tomorrow, March 27, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Proposition 8 cases. The decisions in both cases will address a common question: Should all Americans have the freedom to marry the person they love?

The children being raised by LGBT parents are in an excellent position to answer that question, and across the United States they are speaking out. The Family Equality Council and our coalition partners have filed a “Children’s Voices” amicus curiae brief asking the Supreme Court to consider what these young people have to say about their families.

McKinley BarbouRoske, age 14, lives in Iowa. She is one of the young people quoted in the “Children’s Voices” brief.

She says that when she introduces her high school classmates to her two moms, the typical reaction is, “‘Hi, McKinley’s moms!” She explains, “My friends all think my parents are awesome,” and then she adds, “I think a couple of them want to move in with us.”

And McKinley herself? She couldn’t agree more. “My parents are amazing,” she says. “They love me, and I’m very comfortable with them.” McKinley and her sister Breanna, 10, are both black belts in Tae Kwon Do and take classes together. They have also enjoyed taking classes with their parents, as a family. In the “Children’s Voices” brief McKinley, who plays violin, describes how her moms “have gone to every single one of my music concerts and my sister’s sport games without exception.”

Read more via huffingtonpost.com