Mass. Governor's Daughter Comes Out

Gov. Deval Patrick Says "We Love You No Matter What"

(AP)  The youngest daughter of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said in an interview published Thursday that she's gay, and came out to her parents after lawmakers voted to kill a proposal that could have outlawed gay marriage in the state.

Katherine Patrick said her father responded to her announcement by giving her a bear hug and saying: "Well, we love you no matter what."

She made her revelation public in an interview with her family published Thursday in Bay Windows, a weekly Boston newspaper aimed at the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community.

The governor told the paper his family agreed to the interview to make the news public on their own terms.

"The world is such and my job is such that rather than have someone do a 'gotcha' and our giving the misimpression that this wasn't completely natural in our family, then we thought, 'All right, let's just say it and move on,"' he said.

Katherine Patrick, 18, said she told her father and her mother, Diane Patrick, of her sexual orientation on July 3, 2007 - about three weeks after the Legislature rejected an anti-gay-marriage amendment to the state constitution. Patrick, who supports gay marriage, lobbied lawmakers to block the amendment from reaching the ballot.

"He didn't know that I was gay then," Katherine told the paper. "For someone so publicly to fight for something that doesn't even affect him was just like, 'That's my dad,' you know?"

In 2004 Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage, after the state's Supreme Judicial Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples. California's high court also has legalized gay marriage, and weddings are set to begin there Monday.

Katherine Patrick did not immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press on Thursday. An aide to the governor said he would make few additional comments other than to say he supports and loves his daughter.

Patrick told the paper the idea that one of his daughters could be gay didn't factor into his decision to support gay marriage.

"I don't think we thought about who they loved - more that they knew what love was and that they would have love in their lives," Patrick said.

Katherine Patrick plans to attend Smith College in the fall and is an intern at MassEquality, a gay-rights advocacy group. She and her father will march in Boston's gay pride parade on Saturday.

[Latrocinor]

Have we nothing else to do but bicker about how people want to jump into bed and not the repercussions of?

Posted by hypnotoad72
.. .. ..

YOu seem to be here.

[hypnotoad72]

Well, if it''s nobody''s business, how come the media is littered with articles about people "coming out"?

Is it wrong to "come out straight"? Can heterosexuality be celebrated too?

Have we nothing else to do but bicker about how people want to jump into bed and not the repercussions of?

[dowell100]

Put on a happy face for political reasons, Gov, but we know you and your wife weep at night over this.

[michellem99-2009]

Ye think only homos are beaten,harrassed,and the like,no they are not. They can keep it to themselves.
I can''t with blindness..It is there. White cane and all.
She the 3rd gendar. Kate have a happy life with yer room mate. My room mate is male and I am female.

[extremophil]

I thought EVERYBODY in Massachusetts was gay.

[parrot123-2009]

Great job and response, Governor. It''''s your child and you have every right, morally and religiously, to lover her no matter whom she loves. Just goes to show the world that not everyone is a bigot because his/her child is gay. What a GREAT man of character. If only Bush/Cheney would follow in your steps they''d be decent human beings.
Posted by lanappyroots at 05:05 PM : Jun 12, 2008

This is what i don''t get about the Repugs - Their top 2 leaders - Bush and Cheney - both have Gay Daugthers and they''re in a party that thrives on hating the queers but aren''t smart enough to see the hypocrisy. *** Repugs.

[tryhonesty]

trracymorgan, hey better get used to it. The landslide is coming this Fall (and I am not talking about a new TV program). The RepubliCONs are OUT of here!

[julialily]

It''s not easy to come out. They usually got harassed, beaten up, pushed around and called all kinds of slurs. They would say all sorts of horrible things for the wrong reasons.

Personally, I think for GLBT, they''d better find some online community or something like that, to come out first, where they may feel support, happy, free. Actually, they are usually under great pressure. If they don''t find some place to release themselves,
they may live very hard. I think the one BisexualMingle is a good place for them. After that, I think they may choose some ppl who they believe very well to come out. Like this, step by step.

[michellem99-2009]

Gramma,glad ye still here as the awful floods in yer state. They are there but they have rights. I was taught as Dad taught. I am not married and my male friend of 25 years,he is my eyes so he helps me do what I can''t. we live as brother and sister/room mates, . We have health issues. We are single people.
Vince is my God son.

[honestabe8]

neocon60..go have biblical knowledge of yourself, you puke

[honestabe8]

neocon60: be gone, troll

[honestabe8]

good for the governor.

[honestabe8]

Gay tendencies? What, does he redecorate the house when they are gone?

[grammawhamma]

A woman I know hates g.a.y.s. She idolizes her youngest son who is now 9 years old. Since this kid was 4 years old I have noticed many g.a.y tendencies. I wonder if the mother''s love for her son or her hate for homosexuals will win out if/when her son comes out.

[sfden]

That man has class!

[michellem99-2009]

My Dad he is a USA Vet and 73.
Dad saids
Marriage is a man and a woman.
A date is a man and a woman.
A couple a man and a woman.
This is Dad and what he taught.
The lady aint married as my Dad said.
I am not bigot.. I am legally blind .

[grammawhamma]

Lucky for her she has loving parents who are more than likely NOT religious zealots.

[pollroller1]

Well, I think that everyone should be treated equal. I don''t have a problem with gay marriage. That is their business. Not mine or anybody else''s.

[lanappyroots]

Great job and response, Governor. It''s your child and you have every right, morally and religiously, to lover her no matter whom she loves. Just goes to show the world that not everyone is a bigot because his/her child is gay. What a GREAT man of character. If only Bush/Cheney would follow in your steps they''d be decent human beings.