12-Year-Old Boy Speaks Up for Gay Moms and Marriage Equality

Here's a kid any parent would be proud of.

Protesters took to the state capitol in Salt Lake City to rally against Utah Governor Gary Herbert's decision not to recognize same-sex marriage in the state. One of the most moving people to give a speech to the hundreds-strong crowd was 12-year-old Riley Hackford-Peer, who spoke about his experiences having two moms.

"I'm here today to talk about love, family and equal rights," said Riley. "Some people do not believe that I'm from a loving family because my moms are gay. They are wrong. I love my moms, and my moms love me and my brother, unconditionally."

He says that seeing his mothers get married in December was the second happiest day of his life - the first being when his little brother was born. "It felt like fireworks bursting in my heart," he says.

"The funny thing is, nothing really changed," he continues. "We're still a family, and we all love each other. The only difference is now they have equal rights."

"Governor Herbert wants to treat my moms unfairly," he says. "He says he wants to 'protect families.' But I want to tell him that my family deserves protection, too. I have two moms -- and I love them. And they deserve to have their marriage recognized everywhere."

Hours after this rally took place, the federal government announced that it would recognize same-sex marriages performed in Utah, overriding Herbert's decision. Unfortunately, last week, the U.S. Supreme Court put a halt to same-sex marriages in Utah until a federal appeals court has ruled on the state ban, however, with the huge strides that gay marriage has made in the U.S. in the last year, Utah's days of inequality are surely numbered.

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