In an op-ed supporting a Human Rights
Campaign (HRC) drive against anti-gay legislation, actress Sally
Field says she's proud of her gay son.
HRC hopes to raise $150,000
by Monday to fight “dangerous license to discriminate” bills
such as a recently vetoed measure in Arizona which opponents said
would allow individuals and businesses to discriminate on the basis
of sexual orientation.
(Related: Sally
Field proud of gay son Sam Greisman.)
“The three things I'm most proud of
in my life are my sons, Peter, Eli and Sam. They are kind, loving
and productive people. Each with their own list of talents and
accomplishments,” Field wrote.
“Sam is my youngest son, by 18 years,
and he's gay. To that, I say: So what?”
“Growing up, Sam wanted desperately
to just be like his older brothers – athletic, rambunctious and
even a little bit macho. He wanted to beat Eli at tennis, trounce
Peter at computer football and learn everything about every
basketball player on the court.”
“But Sam was different. And his
journey to allow himself to be what nature intended him to be was not
an easy one. When I saw him struggling, I wanted to jump in. But his
older brothers held me back. They told me I couldn't travel that
road for Sam. It was his to travel, not mine. I had to wait for him
to own himself in his own time. I could make it easier only by
standing visibly to the side, clearly loving him, always being there
and always letting him know.”
“Finally, at 20, long after he beat
his brothers at tennis and computer games and knew as much as anyone
about basketball, Sam was able to stand up proudly and say, 'I am a
gay man.'”
“As his mother, I consider it one of
the great privileges of my life to have been allowed to be a part of
Sam's journey and I've tried to be careful to never make his voice my
voice, but with his approval, I've decided to get involved in the
fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality by
joining the Human Rights Campaign.”
“Sam knows that if he ever marries,
he'll have my full support. After all, I like to believe I raised
him with the good sense to choose a great partner.”
“But there are people out there –
organizations and politicians, strangers who have never even met Sam
– who would rather devote themselves to denying his happiness.”
“Why would anyone want to prevent my
son – or anyone's son or daughter – from having basic legal
safeguards like family medical leave, Social Security survivors
benefits, or health insurance?”
“It doesn't make any sense – but it
won't change until people speak out. I'm proud to stand with HRC to
add my voice. Will you join me?”
“Whether you are LGBT yourself, a
parent or grandparent of an LGBT child, or just a great person with
strong convictions about what's fair and right, I hope I've convinced
you to stand with HRC for equality. You'll be glad you did!”