Dear Sir,
When they beat me in jr. high school because I was queer, I didn't really complain. I accepted that this was the price of being openly different from the norm.
When they screamed death threats at me at early pride parade(s), I didn't complain much. I accepted that some people condemn me, and the best path to acceptance was to live a virtuous life.
When my congregation turned their backs on me, refused me communion, and asked that I not return, I didn't complain. My god tells me to love unconditionally the divine nature in all living things. I know they'll eventually come around and understand this concept.
I now live in California and there's a chance I might be given the same privileges as straight people. The police here treat me with respect, as do county and state services. I am raising a child here and the schools accept me for what I am: a concerned parent of a second grader.
I don't have to tell anyone involved in the courts that legal decisions are made by way of compelling, logical arguments. But sometimes logic of the law yields to the feeling of the people. Justice and equanimity and equality are all difficult to describe without allowing the heart to inform the mind. A thousand logical arguments could be crafted to explain why same-sex marriage should be forbidden. But at the end of the day, keeping me from marrying my beloved is just plain wrong. It is morally wrong to give privileges to some, but not others.
The law cannot keep me from loving those whom I will, but the marriage contract as it stands now in California ensures I will never get what straight Californians get: the opportunity to live my life married to the person I love passionately; just like everyone else.
Sincerely,
Meadhbh Hamrick
