Stephanie, 25, Indiana

 I am a 25 year old from a small town in Indiana.  I work full time at Walgreens as a Certified Photo Specialist and a Pharmacy Tech in Training. I love art, the Indianapolis Colts, my pets, and my family.  I am a member of the United Methodist Church.  In high school I was an honor student, on the varsity wrestling team, and on the cross country team. And I am a lesbian.  I am in a loving, committed, monogamous relationship with the the love of my life.  We plan on getting legally married in Massachusetts but because our state, Indiana, doesn't recognize our marriage as legal, we won't have any of the rights that heterosexual couples get when they get married.  This scares me because we plan on having children and if something should happen to one of us I'm afraid the other would lose custody of the kids because of being the non-biological parent. There's many other things I'm afraid of as well, like not being able to make decisions regarding my wife's medical care, or her not getting my assets if I die, or not being able to stay together when we're elderly and have to be admitted to the nursing home.  I'm also afraid that when we do have kids our kids will be bullied by kids and adults alike because their mothers are gay.  I know how protective I already am over my nieces, so I can only imagine what it will be like when I have a child of my own.

We Are The Face Of Equality

I'm currently working on a "We are the Face of Equality " slideshow and would eventually like to possibly turn it into a book as well. I'm looking for pictures of LGBT people in everyday life to use: on the job, at church, in the classroom, on the street, with their families, etc. (I'm thinking of starting it off "We are the guy in the pew beside you", "We are the pharmacy tech at your hometown pharmacy", "We are your teachers," "We are your nurses, " "We are your firefighters," "We are your soldiers," "We are your sons," "We are your daughters", "your sisters and brothers", "Your aunts and uncles," "Your friends," "We are the face of equality..."). I just want people to know that we're everyday people that are being denied so many basic rights just because of who we love and that we deserve the same rights as everyone else. Send your pictures and your story to WeAreTheFaceOfEquality@gmail.com to be included in this slideshow. I will send everyone who submits pictures a link to the slideshow when it is complete.