Family Spotlight:
Kat and Daena
Kat Morgan and Daena Petersen live in Montgomery County and have been together for 13 years.
They moved here in 2003 so that Daena could attend GWU's School of Medicine. Kat and Daena celebrated their tenth anniversary in January 2004. They look forward to a day when their relationship will be legally recognized across this nation.
"It saddens us that here in our home in Maryland, we have fewer rights than we did in California, or than we do when we visit family in Vermont." While residents of California, they registered as domestic partners and thus enjoyed many legal rights offered by that state. In 2001, they entered into a legal civil union in Vermont, and in 2002, they celebrated with a large wedding, attended by family and friends. "More than 20 children attended our wedding, and for some, it was their first wedding. For them, it was no big deal that we were two women marrying each other--it was a bigger deal that we didn't wear white dresses!" Kat joined the Board of the Equality Maryland Foundation in April "because the struggle for LGBT rights is about love and justice--and it's a struggle I know in my heart we will win." She currently serves on the Development Committee.
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