Aug 27th, 2007
Letter: Same-sex marriage worth conversation
One of the many ways people from gay-parented families can make themselves visible is by writing a letter to the editor on an issue that affects them personally.
This letter is from today’s Burlington Free Press:
I am writing in response to the article “Commission members all support same-sex marriage” (Aug.12). House Speaker Gaye Symington and Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin should be commended for forming the commission. Its members are tasked with listening to Vermonters, not to deliver their personal stance on marriage to the Legislature.
It was a good move to appoint a well-respected group of listeners to the commission and start conversation in Vermont communities instead of in the Statehouse. Everyday folks, for and against same-sex marriage rights, will have the opportunity to speak at the hearings.
As a Vermonter and a daughter of gay parents, I can say first-hand that treating my family as somehow lesser than other families is painful and wrong. I hope that some day families like mine are treated equally and fairly by Vermont laws. My family is worth the time and the conversation.
Ari Kisler
Northfield