09/22/2008
Kids with Gay Parents Put Face on Battle Against Prop 8
Proud Parenting has produced a video using mostly kids with gay parents that puts a human face on some who will be affected by the same-sex marriage ban should it pass in California.
In related news, some are concerned that Black voters in California, traditionally conservative on social issues, will come to the polls in great numbers to support Obama and then cast a vote for the anti-gay measure:
"To blunt that possibility, gay leaders and Proposition 8 opponents have been sponsoring casual events at restaurants in traditionally black neighborhoods in Los Angeles, meeting with black clergy members and recruiting gay black couples to serve as spokespeople on panels and at house parties and church events. 'This is black people talking to black people,' said Ron Buckmire, the board president of the Barbara Jordan/Bayard Rustin Coalition, a gay rights group in Los Angeles. 'We’re saying, ‘Gay people are black and black people are gay. And if you are voting conservative on an antigay ballot measure, you are hurting the black community.’'"
Watch the Proud Parenting video, AFTER THE JUMP...
No on Prop 8 [official site]
Posted 10:40 AM EST by Andy Towle in California, Gay Marriage, Gay Parents, News | Permalink
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This is a great ad, but I didn't hear anyone say "I have two dads". Are we supposed to imply from their saying "I have gay parents", that any combination is possible (female/female, male/male or even male/female)? Is the specter of pedophilia so great that we shy away from explicitly revealing that two men (or even one man) can parent wonderfully?
Posted by: Jeff Atwood | Sep 22, 2008 11:15:13 AM
Jeff, I think that you might be reading a little two much into it. My guess is that the kids decided themselves how they would identify their parents. I don't know that they intentionally made a point to not say that they have two dads.
Posted by: hubbaduh | Sep 22, 2008 11:51:25 AM
Jeff- None of those kids were raised by 2 men. You can tell by the clothes. Those kids were all raised by lesbians.
Posted by: dc8stretch | Sep 22, 2008 12:41:35 PM
Yeah, no spandex anywhere.
Posted by: anon | Sep 22, 2008 12:47:43 PM
A 2+ minute commercial is rather lengthy. I can only guess that they'll take snippets to create a series of commercials that are 30 seconds to 1 minute long.
Not only are there no gay male parents listed, the whole "I have 3 moms and one dad," or other combinations work against us. The California Supreme Court found that marriage should be between two individuals, not a commune. And get some kids from the countryside, you know, farmland, "heartland" kids who probably have to / had to live with the bigotry. Finally, although some were old enough, none mentioned being "happily married" themselves - a few heterosexual "kids" who grew up with gay/lesbian parents and are in a "loving relationship" would be a boon to the cause.
I have to note that the camerawork is pretty lousy. Especially that lens flare at the end. Didn't anyone involved in this actually do any film or video production before?
Posted by: Play It Again Tony | Sep 22, 2008 2:04:51 PM
Almost all those kids seemed kind of gay, doesn't really help the argument that gay parents aren't going to turn their kids into homosexuals too.
I know it's a silly but that's one of the issues at hand to close minded bigots.
Posted by: John M | Sep 22, 2008 2:37:04 PM
No, John M, they don't seem gay. They seem like kids. Kids that are growing into their voices.
Do yourself a favor, don't scold the "close minded bigots" when you are one yourself. "Seemed gay"? I mean really...
Posted by: Mike | Sep 22, 2008 3:14:57 PM
This was a great ad.
Posted by: Dawnell_do | Sep 22, 2008 3:16:23 PM
Proud Parenting did not produce that video. Chiah Presents did. Thanks
I would really appreciate it if the makers of this blog had credited Chiah Presents and not Proud Parenting. Thanks so much
Posted by: chiah | Sep 22, 2008 5:47:35 PM
They didn't seem gay, or necessarily gay, to me -- I think younger people today are more mellow, more chill, more metrosexual. I think the general reduction in homophobia in society is a part of that: People can relax and be more whatever they feel like being. (What a concept!) I agree, though, that no one mentioned 2 gay dads. It would have been nice to see a straight, male young person proudly state that he has 2 gay dads.
Posted by: Steve | Sep 28, 2008 10:28:43 PM
Amendment to last comment: I agree that it was *unfortunate* that no one mentioned 2 dads.
And I mentioned that it would be nice to have a straight male mention 2 gay dads because straight males are the disproportionate source of homophobia in our culture...
Posted by: Steve | Sep 28, 2008 10:31:34 PM