“Finally, at 20, long after he beat his brothers at tennis and computer games and knew as much as anyone about basketball, Sam was able to stand up proudly and say, ‘I am a gay man,’” she continued, noting that being a part of Sam’s journey has been “one of the great privileges” of her life. 

“Sam knows that if he ever marries, he’ll have my full support. After all, I like to believe I raised him with the good sense to choose a great partner,” she added. “But there are people out there — organizations and politicians, strangers who have never even met Sam — who would rather devote themselves to denying his happiness.”