Thanks to Alan Cumming's visit to our school last week, I finally made an effort to watch a movie that has been on my list to watch since I first heard about its release.

"Any Day Now" stars Alan Cumming ("The Good Wife") and Garret Dillahunt ("Raising Hope") as Rudy and Paul, a couple who find their relationship fast-tracked after stepping up to become temporary guardian's to Rudy's next door neighbor's son, Marco (a phenomenal debut by Isaac Leyva). Marco has Down Syndrome. When his mother, an addict, gets arrested, Rudy is determined to take him in, enlisting Paul, a lawyer, to help. For almost a year they are allowed to be a happy family until everything comes crashing down over a party at Paul's boss' house. Until this point Paul had been refering to Rudy as his cousin, partly to protect his job at the law firm but also out of fear of the consequences exposure of their relationship would have on their continued guardianship. The decision to come out gets taken away from them, however, when his boss puts it all together, both firing Paul and setting into motion a court case being brought against them that names them unfit guardians, in exposing Marco to "their deviant lifestyle." No matter that since they've been caring for Marco he has been thriving in school, or has expressed a desire to continue staying with them at their home. Instead the court's prejudice proves to run so deep that they ultimately bribe Marco's mother with a shortened prison sentence on condition she take back custody, with the additional punch of placing a restraining order against them so they can never see Marco again.

If the verdict weren't devastating enough the film ends with Paul typing up a letter to the various legal figures who played a role in separating them from Marco. Inside he includes a small newspaper article, telling of a boy named Marco who had died roaming on the streets alone, looking for his home.

Inspired by a true story, the first thing I thought after watching this tragically beautiful film was: please, let these laws and legal precedents have changed. As a quick Google News search would show, however, gay adoption is a major topic in the news right now, and for all the wrong reasons. Despite Obergefell v. Hodges historic June Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage, many states and religious-affiliated adoption agencies are trying to fight against federal laws that would otherwise force them to make their services available to same-sex couples, including by looking to establish broad RFRAs (Religious Freedom Restoration Acts).

On Oct. 7, Michigan was made to pay $1.9 million to, "...gay plantiffs that sued--successfully--to secure their right to marry and adopt," defending a state ban that was clearly unconstitutional.

Mississippi has the 'proud' distinction of being the last state standing with a gay adoption ban still in place.

In a world where so many children are living in foster homes, unable to find anyone willing to take them in and adopt them, it is completely incomprehensible to me that discriminatory laws like these should remain in place, let alone be continuously defended. Citing a person's sexuality as reason enough to label them unfit parents; preferring to have a child continue without a home rather than be placed with a loving family that wants them, where the couple just happen to be of the same sex; let alone adding children with special needs into the mix, who have even more obstacles standing in their way of ever being adopted--it completely baffles me. I don't want to understand that kind of hate. All I want is for same-sex couples to be given the same rights a heterosexual couple would when looking to adopt kids. Legalizing gay marriage was a MAJOR step forward but there is still so much progress that needs to be made, towards both ensuring gay rights and protecting against discrimination, not only for members of the LGBTQIA community but for every kid who dreams of finding parents who'll take care of them, regardless of gender and who they love.