A Family Passion
By Randi and Philip Reitan of Eden Prairie, Minn.
We are a straight couple who has been married for 34 years. Our marriage has been a blessing to us, so we work to see the day our gay son can marry when he finds the man who is his soul mate.
Gay rights are a family passion. We have worked for gay rights in our church, as it is in the faith communities where the untruths are told. We must go to the source and bring the truth that being gay is not a sickness or a sin. We work to see the day the faith communities realize this truth and embrace equality for all their members — including the right to marry the person you love.
This year we are working to see candidates elected who will stand with the gay community. Minnesota is a key state as we are also battling an attempt to write discrimination into our state constitution with an anti-gay amendment that would define marriage as between one man and one woman only. Our voices are heard with frequent letters to the editor and commentaries in both the Minneapolis Star Tribune and our local Eden Prairie newspaper.
Our gay son, Jake, just finished leading the “Equality Ride,” bringing the message of equality to campuses across this nation. Phil and I flew in and stood with the Equality Riders at many of the colleges and universities. Let us know what we can do — how our voices can be heard in other ways. This is not just a battle of the gay community … it is a battle we must all address to see the day of equality.
May 30, 2006