My partner and I raised a child, starting when he was 14 around the turn of the millennium in Montreal. Other than a few administrative hassles because social workers or other child services professionals weren't quite sure how to handle paperwork with a same-sex-parenting couple, we had an overwhelmingly positive experience.

Our neighbors were supportive and helpful. School teachers and counselors were 100% on our side. Even random parents at sporting events who didn't know us from Adam didn't bat an eyelash when they realized two men were co-parenting a young teenager.

Part of that is down to Montreal, of course, but we never had any difficulty visiting family and friends in the States either, including in Ohio. We were never wary or worried about public reaction.

And this was 20 years ago!

It's startling to realize how things have turned around for the worse – to realize that I felt more comfortable as an out gay parent 20 years ago than I would today.