Dear moms of the world,

I know you’re like me. We love our children. You had a change-the-world moment when you looked into the face of your baby for the first time and you become anchored to that tiny soul. The world suddenly revolved around that little person in your arms, and you would do anything to protect them. The love you feel for your child is awesome and deep and amazingly strong. You love that baby fiercely, and you are a force of nature that would do anything for that child . . . and then, at some point, you realized that every other mother has had that moment with her baby, too. The world is a different place after that.

We love our babies. We promise them that we will protect them, take care of them, love them, cherish them and move mountains if we have to. We would die for them. (And that isn’t hyperbole. We really would.) We want them to be happy, to feel good about themselves, and to be adored. I will love my children completely, forever. I hope that one day, my boys find someone who cherishes them as much as I do (it won’t happen, but I hope they get close).

Like all moms, I also fear for my children’s future. I worry that they’ll grow up to be unhappy, insecure, unsatisfied, demoralized, ill, hopeless or lonely. I worry that somewhere between now and adulthood they’ll stop feeling loved, or safe, or special. It’s a concern that sometimes keeps me up at night.

If you could show me the future, and it showed that my children will be happy, healthy, fulfilled, loved, enthusiastic, peaceful and safe, I would walk around in a state of constant bliss. THAT is what I want for my kids. I know you want that for your children, too — we all do. It’s a mom thing.

Now imagine, for a minute, that your child grows up to be gay. (Maybe you think that can’t happen. Maybe you think it’s one of the worst things that could happen. But, humor me. Imagine it.) Imagine that your child is also happy, confident, healthy and satisfied with their life. And that they are loved. They are the center of someone’s world. There is a person, who they adore, who looks at them almost the way that you do — someone who sees how marvelous, charming, intelligent, sweet, kind and amazing they are. This person is the light of your child’s life. And they want to be together, and be a family.

Can you see it? (Does it make you a little sad? It’s ok for the idea to be shocking to you. You can work on that part later.) But if you can REALLY imagine it, what do you want to happen next? Do you want your wonderful, joyful, loved child to be able to happily build a life with this person who thinks they’re the greatest thing in the world? Or do you want them to face ostracism, bigotry and legal invalidation?

You’re a mom. You want joy for your baby. Of course you do. It might be hard to accept, if you’ve always been taught something else, but deep in your heart, you know that you want your child to be happy, loved, cherished and safe. You don’t ever have to explain it to anyone. You don’t even have to acknowledge that you know what’s right. But when you vote, vote for the right thing. Otherwise, you’re letting your child down. You’re undermining those quiet, cuddling, baby promises you made.