Geraldine Artis & Suzanne Artis
Geraldine Artis (left), 37, and Suzanne Artis (right), 36, of Clinton, fell in love 12 years ago and share a deep partnership, finding joy, strength and understanding in one another. Their commitment encompasses their shared values, which extend to their three children, nine-year-old Geras and seven-year-old twins, Zanagee and Gezani.
“Marrying will complete the dream of our family,” says Geraldine, “a family we are building based on love, responsibility, honesty and respect.”
The children are now the main focus of their parents, who juggle work schedules to provide a secure, loving environment in which to teach them at home. Suzanne teaches in a public school system and Geraldine works as a recreation therapist on the late shift.
Suzanne changed her last name to “Artis” to reflect their mutual commitment and the familial nature of their relationship. Each of the children’s names is drawn from the letters of their parents’ first names.
Because they believe in the goodness of their family and have taught their children not to accept society’s prejudices, Suzanne and Geraldine feel that they must challenge the state’s marriage discrimination. Although the couple now has a civil union, they still encounter situations where people don’t understand what that means, or recognize the nature of their relationship.
While the values are key, Suzanne and Geraldine also believe their family would have more protection if they could marry. For example, marriage would have likely prevented the discriminatory treatment they received in the past when seeking medical care for Geraldine, in one instance, and emergency care for one of their children in another. In both cases, the legal documents they obtained did not protect them as a family and were not recognized by the medical attendees. And they know that those documents can never add up to the full protections and benefits that flow from marriage.
“Every family needs safety,” said Suzanne. “Shouldn’t all committed families have equal rights?”