WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) is a proud father of a newborn baby, making him the first openly gay parent in the U.S. Congress.
On Friday, Polis and his partner, Marlon Reis, sent out an announcement about the arrival of their son, Caspian Julius, who is 8 pounds, 12 ounces.
"Baby and parents are doing well, baby has learned to cry already! No gifts please, just nice thoughts for Caspian, humankind, the planet, and the universe!" read the announcement.
Polis and Reis have declined to comment on whether it was a surrogate pregnancy or an adoption.
“We are so thrilled for the congressman and his partner,” said Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of the Family Equality Council, an organization that advocates for LGBT families. “Little Caspian Julius is so lucky to have two wonderful and loving dads. On behalf of America’s growing number of LGBT parents, we want to send the family our warmest wishes.”
According to the Family Equality Council, there are 1 million LGBT parents raising 2 million children.
Polis is a co-sponsor of the Every Child Deserves A Family Act, which would "ban discrimination in adoption or foster care placement based on the sexual orientation, marital status or gender identity of the potential parent, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child," according to a press release from the office of Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), who introduced the bill.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.