A Gay Congressional Spouse Speaks

Marlon Reis, the partner of U.S. congressman Jared Polis of Colorado, talks about the ups and downs of their experience in the past year.

Last November, Polis became the first openly gay man elected to Congress as a nonincumbent. Reis, a fiction writer, shared the mixed reality of their reception in Washington, D.C. with CNN.

"Rarely has anyone seen me for what I actually am," Reis writes. "I don my 'Congressional Spouse' lapel pin proudly and hope each time not to be questioned, yet I still receive sideways glances and orders to produce an official ID. It is as if my story is too unbelievable to be true, that I am an interloper, someone in a place I do not belong."

Reis continues, "Sometimes we are welcome; other times, our presence seems to inspire resentment and tension. Even among a group that is known for the unusual lifestyle of its members, ours seems to stand out. And yet, we are very much the same as any congressional family."

Read the full account here.

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