WOW: If Mom and Dad Won’t Attend Your Same-sex Wedding, This Woman Will Take Their Place
“I’ll be your biggest fan. I’ll even bring the bubbles.”
If your biological mother is not going to attend your same-sex wedding, this Oklahoma mom wants you to contact her.
“Call me. I’m there. I’ll be your biggest fan. I’ll even bring the bubbles,” Sara Cunningham posted to Facebook in a “public service announcement” last week.
The mom calls herself an “accidental activist” for LGBTQ kids, according to her Twitter bio; she is also the author of “How We Sleep at Night: A Mother’s Memoir.”
In the book, readers hear the story of a Christian mother who “comes to terms with her son being gay through a personal journey that starts with the Church and ends at the Pride Parade,” according to the description on Amazon.
The Oklahoma woman told CBS that she has been involved with the LGBTQ community since her son, Parker, told her he was gay — and it wasn’t easy for her to accept that at first.
“I’m a woman of faith … We live in a conservative town,” Cunningham told CBS. “It sound bad to say it, but I felt like I had to chose between my child and faith.”
She sought out information, NBC reported, and started attending an LGBTQ-affirming church.
“It was my first interaction with the community that I was so alienated from by my own ignorance and my own fear … And I realized this was a beautiful community,” she told the station.
She went back to the parade in 2015, CBS reported, but this time she wore a “Free Mom Hugs” button. She told CBS she would offer anyone a hug — and she left with glitter all over her, as well as with stories about family rejection that haunt her.
Having heard those stories, Cunningham started “Free Mom Hugs,” which is now a group of “moms who love LGBTQ+ kids,” according to the Facebook page.
“Everyone needs their mom,” she told NBC. “To deny that on the most important day of their lives is devastating. I wanted to make the day better.”
Parker Cunningham posted to Facebook that he is proud of his mom.
“Love is like wildfire,” he said. “I have been overwhelmed by the support and kindness of people all over the world who are watching this unfold!”