Statement of Justin McGuire, 10, Fullerton, MD on the Federal Marriage Amendment

Justin McGuire Photo Courtesy of Family Pride Coalition

Hello, I'm Justin McGuire.  I'm in the 4th grade at Fullerton Elementary School in Maryland. I'm here with my baby sister, Maya, my mom, Kathy McGuire and my other mom - Whitney Conneally.  Some people think that having two moms is bad, but I don't think so.  When I go over to Zack's or Michael's house - they have a mom and a dad - I see that they are loved the same way that Mommy and Whit love me.  

Whitney cooks most of the time, and I love her food.  Mommy helps me with my homework, and makes sure that I have it done before I play video games.  Both of my moms used to read to me at night, but now I'm old enough to do it myself.  This summer, since my mom has the new baby, I am looking forward to staying home with my new sister, instead of going to day camp every day.  But we have to wait and see if Whitney's job will let Mommy and me onto their insurance.  I love my parents and my sister and they love me.  I want to spend time with them, like my cousin did when her mom had a baby.  I don't get why some people, like the insurance company, don't think we are a real family.  

Since my sister was born, my moms and me are trying to decide what her last name should be.  I want it to be the same as mine, but that would not be fair to Whitney if everybody had the same last name but her.  If my moms were married, they could already have the same last name.  Then everybody would know we are in the same family.  Once Michael's mom misunderstood and thought Whitney was the nanny.

In school, we are taught a lot of different things - and in social studies class, we're taught about what makes America great.  We learn about freedom, equality and why discrimination is bad. My parents' say that in America, my sister and I can be whatever we want to be, as long as we are willing to work hard.   But some people are saying that just because one of my moms is not a man, that they aren't real parents and should not be equal, no matter how hard they work.  They want to amend the constitution to say that my family legally does not exist.  That just doesn't make sense to me, and it's sort of disturbing.

Some of my friends, when they first hear about my family, think it's weird and different.  My parents always say, ""Different isn't good or bad.  It's just different.""  And once they get to know my family, and me they see that we're just like them.  If my classmates can see that we're a family, why can't Congress?

Thank you.