By Opinions Editor James Wendt

I have two moms, and when I was 14 years old, my mom, Barb, took my younger sister and I to Edward hospital for some doctor-ordered health tests. Upon registering with hospital administration, they informed my mom that she was not qualified to approve us for the tests. The hospital administrators explained that only our “real” mother could accompany us through our medical tests for the day.

Because of our unique family situation, my parents had taken measures that they thought would protect us from this kind of discrimination. My mom Beth carried my sister and I, and after we were both born, my other mom Barb adopted us. Under the eyes of the law, they would both be our legal parents.

Yet there the three of us sat, as they told Barb that she was not our mom and that she could not escort us on our hospital visit. After a phone call to my birth mother Beth, Barb was approved to “chaperone” us for the day, but we were informed that she would not be recognized as our parent for future visits. A phone call where the person on the receiving end identified herself as Elizabeth Wendt, but could have been anybody else in the world, held more standing than the legal status Barb has as our legal parent.

This is just one of the many challenges that my parents have faced as a same-sex couple in Illinois. For the 21 years they have been a couple, and the 16 years they have been parents, my parents have been denied the 1,138 benefits of marriage. These are benefits that opposite-sex, married couples often take for granted. Among these are legal protections, some of which my parents have managed to secure through other means and others the government still denied them.

In June of 2011, an act went into law that allowed same-sex couples to get civil unions, which afforded them some of the legal protections guaranteed to married people. Last year, my parents entered a civil union to assure themselves some of those benefits. Today, Governor Quinn signed SB10, which will allow same-sex couples to marry and ensures that Illinois will turn current civil unions into marriages if the couple desires, according to Naperville News 17.

Before these legal protections, my parents were legally vulnerable to many different injustices. Luckily, they are both legally our parents. Had they not taken that precaution and my birth mom passed away, my adoptive mom would not automatically be our remaining legal guardian, and we might be removed from our home. While my parents are both legally responsible for my brother, sister, and I, they were not legally connected to each other. Had one of them been in the hospital and incapable of making medical decisions, the other could not make those decisions for the one in the hospital. From an insurance perspective, my parents have had to carry separate health insurance policies for themselves, and Beth could not access the spousal pension benefits Barb earns from her state job.

Marriage equality in Illinois offers more significance to our family than just the legal benefits. Today, our state finally validates the love that my parents have shared together for over two decades. Today, our state finally recognizes the legitimacy of our family dynamic, and the government no longer bastardizes my siblings and me. Today, our state finally makes marriage accessible for the couples of tomorrow.