Carol, Emily, and Mary
Photographed in Capitol Square, Richmond City by Michael Simon Photography
"Emily was born in 1998, a time when it was very risky to be out as an LGBT person. Yet, it was clear that neither Mary nor I could deny that Emily was our child. We could never pretend that one of us was anything less than her mom. We were the plaintiffs in Bostic v Rainey Case for Marriage Equality that went to the U. S. Supreme Court and ultimately won marriage equality for Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. You see, names matter. Names like “mom” and “wife” make all the difference in the world. That is why we were a part of this case. That is what we won on October 6, 2014: the simple and profound right to call each other family." - Carol Schall