Woman goes viral after offering to be a stand-in mum at gay weddings
A woman from Oklahoma has gone viral after saying she will be a substitute mum for anyone whose own mum won’t go to their same-sex wedding.
Sara Cunningham, who is an ordained minister and works for an architecture firm, posted on Facebook on Friday (July 20): “If you need a mom to attend your same sex wedding because your biological mom won’t. Call me. I’m there. I’ll be your biggest fan. I’ll even bring the bubbles.”
The post has since been shared more than 7,000 times.
Speaking to BuzzFeed News, the ordained minister said she decided to make the offer after meeting gay couples at the same-sex weddings she has officiated.
“The post came from hearing from several same-sex couples — how their parents refuse to attend their wedding, or even acknowledge their relationships,” Cunningham told the news site.
She added: “People need hope — I sure do — and we need to be that for each other in any way, shape, or form. Hope never disappoints.”
Cunningham revealed that she got into LGBT+ activism after her son came out as gay.
“I thought, If my son is going to hell for being gay I’m gonna fight for him like my hair is on fire,” she told BuzzFeed News.
Cunningham has officiated a number of same-sex weddings, including couple Wilma Fritz and Desiree Fritz, pictured above. (Sara Cunningham/Facebook)
“Since then I’ve gotten educated and no longer believe that — so now I’ve [been] fighting for him and the LGBTQ community like my hair is on fire because I’ve seen the power of what fear and ignorance can do.”
Cunningham is vocal on social media about how she has kept her faith as a Christian, and also embraced her gay son and LGBT+ activism.
In a post on Saturday, Cunningham described this process as a “journey that took me from the church to the pride parade without losing my faith.”
And, in another July status, she wrote: “Conversion therapy (also called reparative therapy) is ANY (I repeat) ANY treatment that aims to change sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. Such treatments have proven to be deadly.”
