Family Affair
Mother-daughter team will join 98-mile Equality Walk to bring attention to marriage rights

By Glenn Gullickson

A mother-daughter team will be among 11 people walking in Right to Marry: Arizona’s third annual Equality Walk.

This year’s eight-day walk kicks off on Aug. 7 in Lake Havasu City and will visit 15 Arizona communities to bring attention to marriage equality.

The number of miles walkers will cover — 98 — represents the number of years Arizona has been a state without providing marriage equality to all citizens.

Unlike previous years when the walk was done in metropolitan Phoenix, this year walkers will visit northern Arizona. They will drive between the communities, then log the miles on foot in populated areas.

Diane Soumis, of Madison, Wis., decided to join her daughter Stephanie to make this year’s pilgrimage after following news of last year’s walk. She said she was impressed with the effort and particularly liked the concept of talking to people about marriage equality along the walk.

Diane said she sees the walk as a way of being supportive of Stephanie. “She should have every right, just like everyone else does,” Diane said during a telephone interview. She also has three sons and one grandchild.

Calling herself a “stand-by person,” Diane said her husband is more politically motivated, but she felt it was time to get involved.

“It’s a cause everyone needs to be aware of,” she said. “We need everyday Americans to open their eyes.” She said she hopes to challenge other parents and get information she can share with others back in Wisconsin.

Stephanie Soumis said it’s “really awesome” how supportive her mother is. While she was growing up, she remembers that her parents “were always standing up for other people.”
Diane said the family moved around for 14 years while her husband served in the military. An assignment in Puerto Rico, where they were a minority, opened their eyes to discrimination. “We go for the underdog,” Diane said.

Stephanie, 29, who is a social worker, moved from Wisconsin to Arizona in 2001 to complete school at ASU.

For the past two years, Stephanie has supported the Equality Walkers, going along on the walk on the days that she could.

She remembered a meeting last year in Chandler that the walkers had set up with city officials. She said people came into the meeting looking like they didn’t care, but they became inspired after visiting with the walkers. “Just talking to them, you could see their facial expressions change,” she said.

Walkers are responsible for planning certain days of the event and the Soumis team will plan the Aug. 11 meetings in Winslow and Holbrook. Meetings with a PFLAG chapter or a service club are among the possibilities.

A gathering at a church would also be appropriate, given Stephanie’s participation in a ministry for the disabled and biblical knowledge. “She’s going to be a good bridge,” Diane said.

At age 56, Diane will be the oldest of the walkers and she admitted that keeping up with the others might be a challenge. “If I can’t keep up, I’ll find a way to follow,” she said. She said she’s on her feet in her job at a Walmart garden center and she’s taking longer walks with the dog to prepare.

Most of all, Diane said she is looking forward to spending time with Stephanie and her friends during the walk. “I think we’re a strong team,” she said.

Other Walkers