[BRIEF NOTE] On Inconveniently Vocal Offspring

[rfmcdonald]

From the Atlanta Constitutional-Journal, via Free Republic:

The lesbian daughter of Georgia Christian Coalition leader Sadie Fields, who has led the campaign to add a same-sex marriage ban to the state constitution, has come out strongly against the measure just days before Tuesday's referendum.

In a highly personal public letter to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's editorial page, Tess Fields also criticized what she called her mother's "bigotry" and "abject hostility toward gay and lesbian people."

Tess Fields, a 35-year-old mother who lives in Oregon, said in an interview that she was speaking out partly to answer an opinion piece her mother wrote in Monday's Journal-Constitution, and partly to offer encouragement to people opposing the amendment.

The letter also illustrates the painful relationship the daughter has with her mother. She writes that the first split with her mother occurred when she was in seventh grade and her mother told her that a Jewish friend "will go to hell" if she did not accept Christ.

Sadie Fields found out when Tess was 24 that her daughter was a lesbian, she wrote. "My mother came over to where I worked, screaming, and told me I was 'dead' to the family. She called me 'sick,' 'crazy,' and 'of the devil,' " Tess Fields wrote.

Sadie Fields was clearly surprised to learn of her daughter's letter from a reporter Thursday night. In an emotional interview, she said her daughter's sexuality and their strained relationship is deeply painful for her. The Christian Coalition leader, who also has two sons, said that she loves her daughter and prays for her daily.

What I said on the 17th.