Zach's proud dads

When Tim and Bill Matheson sought to become one of the first gay male couples to adopt a newborn child in California 18 years ago, they faced homophobic lawmakers and unsympathetic gay peers. But the couple fought hard and became the legal parents of Zach, the child of a friend who had decided before giving birth to give him up. On June 4, Bill, a business lawyer, and Tim, a psychologist, watched proudly as Zach graduated from International High School in San Francisco.

"We're a very normal family, like any straight family," says Bill, who will celebrate his 25th anniversary with Tim this year. "If you could be gender-blind, you'd be surprised at how little difference there is. Raising a child places demands on parents, and the child doesn't care what sex you are."

In 1987 few people agreed. Bill and Tim were not allowed to file for joint adoption, so Bill had to adopt Zach first, then Tim had to be added as a second parent. When then-governor George Deukmejian learned about their situation, he ordered the Department of Social Services to block the adoption. Bill and Tim took their case to court and won.

Even after their victory, the Mathesons still faced prejudice. "We were very shocked about the homophobia in the gay community," Bill recalls. "It was mainly men who really questioned that we would turn our son gay." Others argued that the situation wasn't "fair" to Zach because he would be stigmatized by having two fathers.

Not so. Zach describes his family as "pretty normal" and sees a benefit in having two dads. "I feel that I'm more tolerant of differences people might have, as opposed to someone with a mom and a dad," he says.

Zach, who plays piano, enjoys sports, and is "seeing a couple of different young women," according to Tim, plans to work in Paris this summer and will attend Skidmore College in upstate New York in the fall.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Liberation Publications, Inc.
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