Mormon Family Celebrates Prop. 8 Defeat After Son Comes Out
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A Mormon couple who once supported Proposition 8, but had a change of heart when their teenage son told them was gay, is part of a university documentary series.
Wendy Montgomery and her family greeted Wednesday's news that the Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act and said would not rule on Proposition 8 with a smile.
That's not the reaction you'd expect from a devout Mormon who once went door-to-door asking others to support a ban on same-sex marriage.
"We saw the unintended consequences of Prop. 8 in our own home where a lot of people didn't see it as close to home as we did," Montgomery said.
Wendy and her family of Proposition 8 supporters had a change of heart once her 13-year-old son came out.
The family's journey is highlighted in the San Francisco State University documentary series called Family Acceptance Project.
"Regardless of the choices he makes in his life, I think the options available to everyone else should be available to him and other gay people as well," Wendy said.
The family has come a long way from the days of asking others to put the brakes on same-sex marriage. And if they had known Jordan was gay sooner, they wouldn't have supported Prop. 8.
"It's not political for us, it's personal. It's all about my family, and my son now knows his family loves him 100 percent," Wendy said.
She was able to deliver the good news today to her son, who was attending summer school at the time of Wednesday's announcement.
