Heather Barwick, who was raised by two lesbians, shared her compelling story and why she opposes same-sex marriage. Married to a man and raising four children, Heather has come to realize why same-sex marriage is wrong and why it harms children.
In her powerful story, Heather wrote in The Federalist: “Growing up, and even into my 20s, I supported and advocated for gay marriage. It’s only with some time and distance from my childhood that I’m able to reflect on my experiences and recognize the long-term consequences that same-sex parenting had on me. And it’s only now, as I watch my children loving and being loved by their father each day, that I can see the beauty and wisdom in traditional marriage and parenting.”
Heather, who was raised by lesbian mothers, writes what Liberty Counsel has been saying for years: Same-sex marriage denies a child either a mom or a dad. “A lot of us, a lot of your kids, are hurting,” Heather wrote. She went on to say, “My father’s absence created a huge hole in me, and I ached every day for a dad. I loved my mom’s partner, but another mom could never have replaced the father I lost.” Heather’s story is a must-read, but her story is not unique. It is repeated over and over again.
“I grew up surrounded by women who said they didn’t need or want a man. Yet, as a little girl, I so desperately wanted a daddy,” Heather wrote. “It is a strange and confusing thing to walk around with this deep-down unquenchable ache for a father, for a man, in a community that says that men are unnecessary.”
“Heather Barwick’s story about how she and other children raised by same-sex parents are harmed by the lack of the opposite-gender parent is just one of many reasons why same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption are wrong,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “We should pass laws that strengthen the family, not tear it down by dooming children to a single-gender set of parents. The policy of same-sex unions says that moms and dads are irrelevant to the well-being of children. The social experiment of same-sex unions is hurting children,” Staver concluded.
