Posted on 06/30/2003 6:49:31 AM PDT by twas
The New Politically Driven All-American Family
SAN FRANCISCO - For 10 years, Bryan Nadeu strutted in the Gay Pride parade as part of a marching band, hammering out a beat on a drum while wearing a rainbow-plumed hat. But that was B.F. - Before Fatherhood.
Now, with a 14-month-old toddler in tow, he has other things to worry about while preparing for today's San Francisco parade: Baby backpack or stroller? Will there be diaper-changing stations? And how should he retreat if his child melts at the loud music and crowds?
"It's like I'm figuring out how I can be a father and still be gay," Nadeu said.
With 32 percent of same-sex couples now raising children, according to the 2000 census, organizers of gay pride parades across the nation have had to rethink their notions about a tradition founded on celebrating sexual freedom and challenging the status quo.
In New York City, which also has its gay pride parade today, the local Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center is sponsoring a children's entertainment area for the first time. "Family gardens" have sprouted at pride events in San Diego; Seattle; Columbus, Ohio; and Austin, Texas.
Steven Boulliane and Olivier du Wulf will march with their sons Laurent, 3, and Patrice, 2, in the San Francisco parade, along with about 200 other moms, dads and children from Our Family Coalition, a support group for homosexual parents.
They asked for a kid-friendly spot in the lineup, hoping to avoid a repeat of last year - when their stroller brigade was awkwardly sandwiched between two groups of leather-bound sadomasochists.
"I don't want my kids to see that, and I don't think either side was too pleased," said Boulliane, 35.
No one knows how many U.S. children have gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual parents, although the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force estimates 1 million to 9 million.
These parents are making their influence felt beyond once-a-year gay pride events, transforming social dynamics both within and outside the homosexual community.
John Kirkley, 36, an Episcopal priest in San Francisco, said that after he and his partner adopted a son almost five years ago, straight couples, rather than other homosexual men, became the foundation of their social network.
"We had a lot more in common with straight parents than single gay or lesbian folks in terms of understanding the joys and challenges of parenting, understanding we can't be as flexible with our schedule," he said. "Some gay and lesbian folks of a certain age had lived in an all-adult world for so long they weren't really comfortable relating to children."
But despite Thursday's landmark Supreme Court ruling throwing out state sodomy laws, homosexual parents still face many legal hurdles. Laws affecting dual guardianship of their children are "dramatically different from state to state, county to county and even judge to judge," according to Lisa Bennett, director of the FamilyNet project of the Human Rights Campaign.
In Florida, Mississippi and Utah, gays and lesbians are prohibited from adopting. Nine states allow gays and lesbians to adopt the children born to their partners and 18 allow such "second parent adoptions" to be sanctioned at the county level.
Try figuring out how not to be so selfishly perverted first you depraved wuss!
This absolutely lead to the downfall of this nation!
"I don't want my kids to see that, and I don't think either side was too pleased," said Boulliane, 35.
In other words, he wants to pretend (and fool his kids into believing) that his lifestyle is "normal" and "healthy". Evidence to the contrary should not be exhibited too blatantly. That would offend his delicate sensibilities.
Irony is totally lost on these people.
"I don't want my kids to see that..."
Why not? You don't have a problem with our kids seeing it.
How incredibly ironic. He is homosexual, and yet wants to shield his child from the homosexual culture.
Indeed it will. These poor children, who will naturally love their parents, will be terribly confused because they are violating natural law, and doing strange things that these kids won't understand. These children's own sexuality will likely be in doubt as well. All around, I consider it a disaster for these poor kids.
More proof that "gayness" trumps every other aspect of these peoples' lives. It's more important to him to be a gay parent than a good parent, apparently.
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