Marriage Equality, Deb Wallace and Brian Baird

Several weeks ago, I signed the Marriage Equality Petition for Washington State. I, as I imagine did the others from Southwest Washington who signed the petition, received the following email from Congressman Brian Baird and the one beneath it from State Representative Deb Wallace. I have not heard from the other 10 elected officials that it went to.

Dear Ms. Crosland:

Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts about domestic partnership. I appreciate hearing from you and apologize for the delay in my reply.

Let me begin by saying that I take my responsibility to represent the people who live in Southwest Washington very seriously, which is why I deeply appreciate you taking the time to write me. Hearing your comments and concerns on the important issues facing our country is important to me as I work to represent Southwest Washington in Congress. I believe that our nation's government is only as strong as the individuals who choose to actively participate in its improvement, and I am grateful when constituents take the time to contact me.

I share your interest in ensuring equal rights and privileges for gay and lesbian people. I do not believe that homosexual relationships threaten in any way the marriage of heterosexual couples. The strength of individual marriages and marriage as an institution depends, first and foremost, on the commitment and conduct of the people involved.

I have strongly opposed efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution to prohibit gay marriage. Since its drafting in 1787, the Constitution has only been amended 27 times and has never been amended to single out one group for the restriction of rights enjoyed by others or to allow one state to refuse to recognize the laws of another. Indeed, the framers were clear that a fundamental duty of our government is to protect the rights of all citizens, whether or not those citizens are in the majority, and whether or not the majority supports rights for those citizens.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to do so in the future if I may be of further assistance. In addition, I invite you to visit my website at http://www.house.gov/baird/IMA/email.shtml and sign up for periodic email updates about my work in Congress.

Karen,

Thank you for sharing your support for gay marriage and equal rights. I greatly value the input I receive from members of our community. I've co-sponsored and supported in past legislative sessions the civil rights bill, which provided protection from discrimination in housing and employment, the domestic partnership registry and the expansion of the domestic partnership responsibilities and protections. I appreciate that you've taken the time to voice your support and look forward to hearing more from you on this issue during the next legislative session.

Best regards,

Deb

Deb Wallace
State Representative
17th Legislative District

Check out my legislative website: http://hdc.leg.wa.gov/members/wallace/