My husband grew up in the typical OC family, extremely conservative, religious and completely opposed to homosexuality. I watched Randy’s struggle with his parents’ acceptance as they asked him to stay in the closet until they died, gave him literature about ex-gay ministries, being excommunicated from his lifelong church and fear of what would happen if he came out publicly. I was absolutely shocked to see how he was treated and felt the need to do something about it.

We have filmed three national television shows (Dr. Phil, Oprah and The Secret Lives of Women) to prove that even if a spouse does come out, it doesn’t have to be the end of the world. You can still maintain a great friendship and raise your children together, even if you do divorce and live separately. We are doing just that. Our daughters are avid cheerleaders for equal rights for their father and they stand up for others in their schools that are called names and teased for being gay, lesbian and bisexual. We are so proud of them for the stance they have taken and my high school daughter wants me to try and start a GSA at her school.

Our goal for Seven Straight Nights Orange County is to start discussions with our story. We want others to see that all people, regardless of their gender or sexual identity, are the same, and they deserve to be treated the same. We hope that our Seven Straight Nights event will help accomplish just that.

Jay Bakker once said that “It’s not the words of your enemies that you’ll remember, it’s the silence of your friends.” We aren’t going to be silent anymore. It’s time to support our friends who are being treated unfairly.

There are many LGBT persons in Orange County and we want to be there to help all of them know that they are loved by straight people and that we are here to support them. Wish us luck!

Orange County, California

Produced byAtticus Circle and Soulforce

Produced by
Atticus Circle and Soulforce