Last night I had the opportunity to photograph little baby Ryanne. She was just 5 days old and I’ll be blogging some of the photos when I have them ready.
After that shoot we decided to grab a quick snapshot of Amy & Julianne with the two daughters. Taylor, the son, wasn’t available to be photograph although technically he is in the shot on the upper left—a photo within a photo.
I just wanted to share this photograph of a beautiful family that happens to have 2 mommies. I’m going to be a little political. With all the fighting over LGBT rights we often don’t see the faces of people who are affected.
Amy & Julianne with their 2 daughters after Ryanne’s Baby shoot
There is a lot of anger on both sides of the debate but we should remember the families that are without legal protections. Protections such as inheritance, wrongful death claims, Social Security, access to divorce, child support, alimony, family leave, insurance, hospital visitation, emergency medical decisions, Medicare, Medicaid, and about 1100 other rights and privileges that come automatically if a couple is straight.
Marriage has become a business contract and gay and lesbian couples are denied that in many states.
I had the fortune to photograph Amy & Julianne’s wedding in Vermont. It is legal in Vermont and 16 other states as I write this blog post. It was legal in Utah for 2 weeks. We’ll see how Amendment 3 plays out in the courts. However, in the meantime, we need to put a face on the families that are affected by our legislation.
We need to protect this family. Heaven forbid the worst happens and one spouse falls ill or worse passes on, there are little to no protections for the family. Utah laws are hurting real families and the laws certainly are not making any family units stronger.
I should probably proofread what I wrote, but I’m just writing from the heart.
Family, isn’t is about time?
