Sophia Bailey-Klugh had already written
to President Barack Obama once before, to invite him to dinner at her
house. He didn't RSVP, so when the 10-year-old with two dads decided to
send him a note thanking him for his support of gay marriage, she wasn't
expecting a reply.
"Dear Barack Obama," she wrote."It's
Sophia Bailey Klugh, your friend who invited you to dinner. You don't
remember okay that's fine. But I just wanted to tell you that I am so
glad you agree that two men can love each other, because I have two dads
and they love each other, but at school kids think that it's gross and
weird."
"Totally unprompted, our amazing 10
year old decided to write this letter to Barack Obama," her dad,
Jonathan Bailey, wrote when he posted her note on Facebook. He and is
partner, Triton Klugh (whom Sophia calls Papa) are "so unbelievably
proud. And maybe we teared up a little." In her letter, Sophia wrote
that her classmates' reaction "hurts my heart" and that she wrote to the
President because "you are my hero.""If you were me and you had two
dads that loved each other, and kids at school teased you about it, what
would you do?" she asked.
Imagine
her surprise when she looked in her mailbox last week and saw that the
President of the United States had written back to her. "In America, no
two families look the same. We celebrate this diversity. And we
recognize that whether you have two dads or one mom what matters above
all is the love we show one another," Obama wrote (Bailey posted his
reply on Facebook as well). "You are very fortunate to have two parents
who care deeply for you. They are lucky to have such an exceptional
daughter in you."
"Our differences unite us. You and I
are blessed to live in a country where we are born equal no matter what
we look like on the outside, where we grow up, or who our parents are,"
the President continued. "A good rule is to treat others the way you
hope they will treat you. Remind your friends at school about this rule
if they say something that hurts your feelings."
Then he apologized for having missed
dinner, and promised "to tell Sasha and Malia you say hello." "This is
not about President Obama, it's about what's right," Jonathan Bailey
wrote on Facebook. "Thank you, Barack Obama -- you have made one
10-year-old feel mighty special (and her two dads, too). "
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