A Letter from Beth and Verlann

This coming August 6, 2005 we will celebrate the 11th Anniversary since our Union Ceremony and 18 years in a loving relationship! During these years, we have experienced your love and support. You have been with us as we began to form our family and you have been part of the extended village which supports us as we are raising our children, Clare Elizabeth (age 7), Olivia Ann (age 6) and Michaela Marie (age 4). We are indeed grateful to and for each of you.

Beth and Verlann

During recent years we have become more and more disturbed by the political atmosphere at local, state, and national levels. Increasingly, the religious right is seeking to make it even more difficult for us to feel secure and hopeful as a same-sex couple and as parents. Our civil rights have been limited and continue to be progressively denied.

Our Union Ceremony was a simple religious ceremony, a public declaration on our part and a public witness on many of your parts. However, it was a not a civil ceremony and it came with no civil rights or protections, such as come automatically with a heterosexual marriage. We have spent enormous amounts of money on legal fees in efforts to protect ourselves and our children, such as durable powers of attorney, medical powers, and second-parent adoptions, to name a few of our efforts. In addition, last summer we traveled with our children to Toronto, Canada and were legally married! It was a simple civil ceremony which holds both symbolic and real meaning for us. However, it is not recognized in the United States.

Clare

At this time in the history of our nation, successful efforts are begin waged throughout this country to make it legally impossible for us to protect ourselves and our children and to remove the few legal protections that we have been able to secure. For example, the legal contract called "second parent adoption" is an agreement between Beth and Verlann which allows Verlann to have a legal relationship with our children and to continue to parent Clare, Olivia, and Michaela in the event of Beth's death. (Two people who are not legally married cannot adopt children together, thus Beth first adopted the children and then legally agreed to allow Verlann to adopt her children without losing her legal relationship with the children. This is called "second-parent adoption.) Without this legal protection, Verlann would not be considered to be legally related to the children and they could be placed in foster care upon Beth's death. Recently, the Texas House of Representatives passed legislation that would make any legal document such as power of attorney, durable power of attorney, living wills, medical power of attorney, and second-parent adoptions between two people of the same sex null and void! This same legislature passed a law that prohibits same-sex couples from being foster or adoptive parents. The States of Virginia and Alabama already have similar laws enacted and enforced! We hope you are, at this point in reading this letter, saying, "How can this be?!"

Olivia

The religious right in this country has a political agenda of mean and hateful bigotry and prejudice, all in the name of Jesus and Christianity! Targeting homosexuals allows this group to capitalize on deep seated fears and prejudices to help galvanize its movement. This is shameful and sinful. We believe that, "Hate is not a family value."

Michaela

The religious right raises a tremendous amount of money to promote their hateful agenda against us. You may be wondering how people like us are organizing to work for fairness and equality. If your have not already heard of the Human Rights Campaign www.hrc.org and are not currently a member, we want to introduce you to a powerful national organization whose purpose is to work for the civil rights and legal protections of gay and lesbian people and to educate all of us regarding these issues. Their efforts are tremendous, and their work is continued on far less money than that used by the religious right. Please join, please send an extra contribution if you can, and please become more informed regarding gay and lesbian issues. Consider telling your friends, neighbors, and family members about HRC. Tell them about us; spread the good news about gay and lesbian people whom you know. We desperately need allies and supporters. We need you. When you read about gay and lesbian issues in your local paper and/or hear information on the news, please remember both the prejudice, and the growth in understanding and acceptance is about real people and real citizens. All we expect is "liberty and justice for all!"

We have been living under a troubling cloud...a heavy burden, and we have decided that this is a positive way for us to respond and to celebrate our anniversary and our continued love for each other and our family. Thank you for your support, your interest, and your understanding.