Five Mothers on How They Are Protecting Their LGBTQIA+ Children

Today is May 11, the 131st day of 2025. In the last 131 days, 575 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills have been filed in 49 states—all of them attacking the community's right to breathe, go to school, walk safely down the street, and not only live, but thrive.
Today is also Mother's Day. For many of us, mothers are the world's guiding lights, the fixers of all problems. The five mothers below reflect that: They are mothers standing up for their LGBTQIA+ children in a time when their very existence is being called into question.
Marcia Gay Harden, mother of three
Courtesy Subject
'My children are the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I go to bed. All parents have preconceived ideas about who our children are. When they begin to define themselves differently, there may be some sort of mourning. But immediately after, hopefully, there's a celebration of the fact that you gave them this place to feel comfortable to explore and be who they are going to be—and you get to receive that gift.
The Drag Isn't Dangerous telethon was the first time I said out loud that all of my children identify with the LGBTQ+ community. And then the hate mail came rolling in. I think it came from very right-wing Republican groups with an organized hatred of the LGBTQIA, as you can see by the laws and politics that are currently rolling back all kinds of all kinds of rights, permissions, passports, and healthcare for the community. They should be more interested in insider trading and corruption than the signs on a bathroom. But then one of my kids said 'Work it, Mom. If they're mad, you must be doing something right.'
My coping mechanism is just to refocus and ask myself: Who is more important? My kids, or some extended family member, who is choosing to say something inappropriate? My kids, or the neighbors acting rudely? We're talking about who my children are—this is not a political belief, it's their being.

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