In the wake of last week's landmark hearings on marriage equality before the U.S. Supreme Court, two gay dads in Washington, D.C., filmed a video asking the justices to keep their family in mind when they rule.
Jack Montgomery and his husband adopted three African American siblings from D.C.'s Child and Family Services, and were struck by contentions from conservative justices last week that social science has yet to return a verdict on the "consequences" of marriage equality and same-sex parenting.
"When our children arrived we welcomed a five-year-old who was not potty trained, a two-year-old who was withdrawn, and an almost two-year-old who never learned to walk," says Montgomery during a video montage of his children. "Please understand that there were no biological impediments to the development of these children. Their situation was entirely brought on by deleterious parenting. Since their arrival our children quickly graduated from the need of any additional services to include physical, speech, and play therapy. They are now happy and active members of their community."
Montgomery asks the Court to consider the harmful effect that an anti-equality ruling would have on his children, positioning himself as an "expert witness to the effects of deleterious parenting."
"I accept that the stares our family receives walking down the street on a daily basis elicits both judgment and inspiration," concludes Montgomery. "What I do not accept is that the United States of America is willing to devalue my children's family more than others and have a separate grouping of laws and benefits."
Watch the video below to hear the whole letter, and find the text at DearSCOTUS.com.