大卫·欧博伊尔著
2017年6月26日
With members in all 50 states 和 more than 80 countries, the D.C. 酒吧 is beginning a regular feature to profile the people who make up our community. Read about your peers, their lives, 和 their work around the world.
As a new, single transplant in Washington, D.C., Sharra格里尔 was looking to build her social life in a new city. At a women’s bookshop, she asked the clerk for her opinion on the best place to meet new people. 差不多在同一时间, D’Arcy Kemnitz also arrived in the District, 和, as fate would have it, she asked the same clerk from the same bookshop the same question. And to either attorney, the clerk recommended that they try a women’s discussion group hosted by Whitman-Walker Health.
And that’s exactly how Greer 和 Kemnitz met, hitting it off despite their first “heated discussion” on whether the Millennium March on Washington in 2000 to rally for LGBT rights was a good idea. Today the couple jokingly admits that debate still has not been resolved.
Greer 和 Kemnitz are both passionate about social justice issues, focusing their work on improving the lives of marginalized individuals in society.
“I went to law school to work on civil rights issues, but also issues of justice 和 fairness,格里尔说。. “I felt that the law was a good avenue to be able to do that work.”
Greer began her career as an employment attorney, but quickly transitioned to social justice 和 advocacy work when she joined the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network as its legal director. 在SLDN, Greer played an instrumental role in laying the groundwork for a legislative repeal of the “不要问, 不要告诉” military policy barring LGBT individuals from openly serving in the armed forces.
After 9/11 和 the country’s subsequent wars in Afghanistan 和 Iraq, attention was sharply focused on the military, creating the conditions for the ultimate repeal of “不要问, 不要告诉.”
“The country could see what it meant for people who were willing to serve our country overseas 和 be injured 和 killed,格里尔说。. “And yet, they couldn’t be who they were. If anybody found out, they would be discharged.”
“不要问, 不要告诉” was ultimately repealed in 2011 after Greer 和 her colleagues got a bill introduced in Congress. Greer was in the room the day the bill was signed into law. “Getting to be in the room with activists I had worked with for a decade, 和 veterans who had been discharged who would now be able to serve, was just amazing 和 powerful,格里尔说。. “It was one of the most incredible moments I’ve ever had.”
Greer joined the Children’s Law Center (CLC) in 2008, serving as its first policy director, a role she continues to play today.
Kemnitz, who has led the LGBT 酒吧 Association since 2004 as executive director, says she became a lawyer to advance her interests 和 career in social justice work, 和 to work to “make life better for everyone.”
“We’ve seen a lot happen in our lifetimes already. I would have never believed that, although it’s still up in the air, we would be looking at open transgender military service just a few short years after the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, 不要告诉,’”凯姆尼茨说.
Although Greer 和 Kemnitz have been together for nearly 20 years, they were just married in 2010 when the District began to allow same-sex marriage. Greer says she 和 Kemnitz were adamant that they would be married in the District instead of traveling elsewhere, such as Massachusetts or Canada, where same-sex marriage is recognized.
On the day that same-sex marriage was legalized in the city, Greer 和 Kemnitz arrived at the courthouse—dressed in business attire 和 holding cups of coffee 和 newspapers—where they became “lucky couple number 22,凯姆尼茨说.
“It was nerve-wracking,格里尔说。. “There was the specter of Congress looming, 和 we weren’t sure [legalized same-sex marriage in the District] was going to happen. We wanted to make sure that we were there in line right away.”
Not long after they were married, Greer 和 Kemnitz dove head-first into parenthood. Almost immediately after getting approved to become foster parents, Greer received a phone call notifying her that there were infant twins at a hospital needing emergency placement.
“I told my boss I had to leave work,格里尔说。. “I went to Target to buy a second set of everything, as well as formula, diapers, 和 clothes. I had to run to the house to set up the second crib.”
After a pause, Greer says, “Then we got these two beautiful children.”
Even as a highly-educated couple with plenty of support 和 resources, Greer 和 Kemnitz found the experience of navigating the adoption process challenging. Greer says their experience gave her an even stronger appreciation for the families the CLC works with, 和 now more than ever, she finds the organization’s work particularly important.
“Children 和 families are not being supported,格里尔说。, who fears that various programs to assist children 和 families with learning challenges, 语言障碍, or who are facing homelessness could be cut drastically, leaving the city to make tough decisions about whether to fill the gaps.
收养双胞胎, Liam和Máire, was an eye-opening experience for Greer, who had observed the process from the outside through her work at the CLC. Greer says she was surprised by how much she felt like every other foster parent going through the adoption process considering all her experience with the adoption system.
It took a year 和 a half to finalize the twins’ adoption 和 legally add them to the family. In the court order for the adoption, 法官写道, “It is hereby ordered to be noted that these two are the luckiest moms in the world,凯姆尼茨说. “It is a legal fact that we are the luckiest moms in the whole world.”
