I think it depends on the age of the child and how it was brought up. my children have been exposed to same sex couples since they were born, so to speak. we have never made their orientation an issue. we let them know that you can't help who you fall in love with and based on empiracle evidence, sexual orientation is determined at a very young age. however, some people choose lead private lives and do not "come out" until later in life. our children have been taught to love and respect all of Earths creatures. Race, Religion, Orientation are never even factored into our conversations. they do not refer to people based on their skin color but by actuall physical attributes, ie: the girl that is tan all year round and has dark brown hair w/braids. our 8 y o describes people in degrees of skin tone and hair color, mostly becauseshe has aspergers and is on the autistic spectrum. Our oldest has been confused by kids at school and their behavior. in fact one of her classmates all the way thru elementary and now onto middle school, has always had 2 moms. his mothers take part in school activities and treat him with so much love and repect that it further drove home the fact that it doesnt matter what one's orientation is! how much people love and are loved is what defines them!

The younger children have not approached the subject. I have a male cousin who has been in a same sex relationship for many years. His boyfriend is like a family member to me. They have been together for a long time- even before my children were born. My children know no different. I do not even think of it as an issue for us. I would like to hear what others have had to say if questioned by their kids. What made them question in the first place? Is this a conversation that I should have with them or should I leave it as is. I never even thought about leading a discussion about this.

My kids are young (6, 5, 2.5) but I answer them in an honest way that reflects our values. When they have asked if girls can marry girls, I've told them that in some places, yes. And that hopefully, someday soon, people can marry the person they love, no matter if it is 2 "girls" or 2 "boys" - to use their language. ; )

They know that families are made up all different ways and that some have 2 moms or some have 2 dads. Just like some kids live with one mom or dad, or even grandparents, sometimes. They know that most married people are "a girl and a boy", but not all.

For us, we believe it's important to "normalize" the discussions and not make a big deal out of it. Because, honestly, it's not. It's kind of like how I chuckle when people whisper the word "gay" around my kids when we have had a conversation where it comes up. I finally told my one friend, "Gay isn't a bad word. It's great if you whisper a word of profanity, but no need to whisper "gay". ; )

happy to see that the comments reflect an accepting moral fiber and not a right wing vigor! it warms my heart that the comments are so positive. with civil unions having become allowed and recognized this june 1, its great to see an acceptance. the world is a changin', lets keep up the progression!

At a certain age, I think a conversation of acceptance is indeed necessary. I think gay kids can still be teased at school so it's important that children are taught acceptance at an early age. I've struggled with explaining gay couples a time or two only because I'm not sure if I should say, "Yes! You can marry a woman or a man if you want to." I'm open minded, but not sure if I want to throw that one out there. I guess it really doesn't matter anyway in the end. I am doing as Jane is doing and not making a big deal out of gay couples. Hopefully, it will be all normal to this generation - kind of how women working outside of the home has been normal for us, etc. The Onion had a funny story about a future generation wondering what took us so long to legalize gay marriage.

We've answered their questions honestly as they come up (kids are 11, 9 and 5) and never hidden our support of same sex marriage. They were actually surprised that people are not allowed to marry the person they love just because they were the same sex. (Talk about an interesting conversation. LOL) We have good friends in a long-term relationship and are thrilled that they can at least now get the benefits with a civil union, but we're still hoping they can get married some day if they choose to. I agree with Marissa, I really think this generation of kids is the tipping point and will be the one where gay marriage is no longer an issue. They're going to look back some day and wonder what all the drama and fighting was about. At least I hope that's the case.

OMG Robyn I love that scene in St Elmo's Fire-hilarious! Speaking of dating ourselves, I was watching a rerun of the Cosby show with my kids and the "controversial" topic was women working outside the home. I laughed and thought how far we have come in 25 years. Hopefully we do continue to be a progressive nation!!

My boys (14,12,10) have always been raised with acceptance of all choices, races etc. and I have always answered their questions honestly and without judgement of others. At the jr high and high school level they have experienced and witnessed more ignorance and hatred than I expected. The kids are aware of what is in the news and they really do repeat what is said in the home. I have told my boys how important it is to respect other people for their beliefs even when they differ from ours but hatred and disrespect of others should not be tolerated and to walk away from those conversations. I have learned it is very important to talk to them honestly and really open the lines of communication because if you don't..someone else will.

My son's aunt is a lesbian and has been living with the same woman for 35 years. He has never asked, but I guess if he asked about gay marraige I would just say that sometimes men like men and women like women.

I think this raging civil war between liberals and conservatives is just awful when it spills into the schools and onto the children. Last year, my son came home just "outraged" that Cookie Monster was being renamed the "Veggie Monster."

I immediately laughed at him and said, "why do a bunch of fifth graders even care what they call a character on Sesame Street anyway?" But then I went online and proved that it was not true.

I remember the last run in was when the school banned Obama's speech because parents were calling in freaking out. I had turned the TV off because the Hitler signs over that horrid HC bill were way off - and my son only exists because his Catholic Great grandparents were put on cattle cars out of Russia and Poland and taken back to Germany to work in forced Nazi Labor camps for German businessmen. That's where they met.

Anyway, my son actually had no idea to even be disappointed that Obama's speech was banned. But I did call the school and go off that I was not informed. And to inform them that the whole thing was totally ridiculous, when Bush visited Caterpillar my son was stoked that "The president is going to be right by our house, Mommy!"

So sad when parents are forced to drag our kids into it...