U.S. Representative Angie Craig (MN-2) sits down with Family Equality to share her journey from growing up in Rural America to fighting for LGBTQ+ youth & families in Congress.
Representative Angie Craig’s Adoption Journey
Growing up in rural America, Rep. Angie Craig didn’t know she wanted to be a mother when she first came out as LGBTQ+. “But when I looked at my son, Josh, when he was born, I just remember thinking: I want to raise this kid,” says Craig.
Soon after his birth, however, Craig and her partner were told that because they were LGBTQ+, they couldn’t take Josh home.
“That began the three-year journey,” she says. “We were there when he was born. And we went home with no Josh. We didn’t have organizations like Family Equality to help us take on the state of Tennessee.”
“When you wake up for three years of your life, not knowing that the child you’re raising is going to stay with you for one more day…it changes you as a person,” Rep. Craig explains.
Fighting for LGBTQ+ Families in Congress
That experience informed her journey to becoming Congress’ first out lesbian mom in 2019. Now, she’s leading the fight to pass the Every Child Deserves a Family Act (ECDF), a bill that would end discrimination in adoption and foster care. With LGBTQ+ people seven times more likely to foster and adopt, this legislation would make more loving, affirming homes available to the 400,000 youth in care.
“I won’t stop until the Equality Act has passed, until the Every Child Deserves a Family Act has passed. Because every single child in this country deserves to be raised in a loving home. And I know just how amazing LGBTQ families can be,” says the Congresswoman.
“I never, ever believed that a young lesbian from Arkansas would make my way to the US Congress,” she shares. “I didn’t set out to be a champion of LGBTQ parenting, I just wanted to raise my son.”
Dedicated to telling the stories of everyday LGBTQ families, the Ric Swezey Memorial Fund made this film possible. Make a donation to support our storytelling work here.