Family Spotlight:
Carin and Paz
This is an exciting time for our family. In June 2006, Carin and I celebrated our love and commitment to each other in marriage. Although we are grateful to have the support of our Temple clergy, the reality is that our marriage carries no legal significance. Planning our wedding was exciting, but it was a process we cannot fully enjoy. We underestimated the emotional costs of planning our wedding in the very year that same-sex marriage was being publically debated. It is difficult to reconcile the special sense of family that we share together with the vulnerability we feel given the public debate about whether we really are a family.
Last year our now-12-year-old daughter Isabel was sick at school and the nurse refused to call Carin because she is not a "parent." In fact, legally Carin is no more than a stranger to Isabel. Although Isabel was excited about our wedding she did pull us aside one day and ask if we were going to get arrested -- she had heard so many times that same-sex marriage is illegal that it makes sense she would be confused. This month Isabel was asked in art class to draw a picture using a symbol that is meaningful to her. She drew the earth (blue water, green land) with the HRC equality symbol in the middle. In the end, we feel confident that we are raising a a confident, intelligent and compassionate child.
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