I’m so excited about finding the perfect trailer for our trip that I almost don’t want to talk about the Respect for Marriage Act that was introduced in the House yesterday. But I will hold off talking about the tree when the forest is aflame.

All of Us - Photo by Lauren Sayoc

Dear Representative Inslee,

Since moving to North Seattle five years ago, I have voted for you every time you asked me to. I’ve talked to people about you and said, “I think he’s a pretty good guy.”

So I have to ask you now: Why have you abandoned my family?

We are your constituents. I live around the corner from the high school you attended–where you met your wife. Your wife. No explanation needed.

I don’t need to know the details of your sex life, what state you got married in, or whether your parents attended your wedding. I don’t need to know what your children call you or who their “real” parents are. I don’t need to know who performed your wedding ceremony, what robe they wore or didn’t, or how many people attended. I don’t need to know if you wear rings, what you call each other when you’re talking about one another, or who wears the pants in the family. I don’t need to see a card issued by the Secretary of State to prove you have a relationship I should be obligated to respect in a hospital room. I don’t need to ask whether you have wills that name each other as beneficiaries, or how, if one of you passes, the other will pay the taxes to be able to keep your house.

Why do you think that you deserve these privileges while we do not? Did God grant you this virtue, that you should be heterosexual while I am not? Does it make you more intelligent, more just, or better able to enter into a civil contract? Please explain to me why you think I am lesser than you.

And then remove me from your e-mail list. Until you represent my family, too, you will not have my vote.

I urge you with all the love that I feel for my family and others like ours–many of whom live in your congressional district–to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act. When you do, I will gladly welcome you back as my Representative. Because you will indeed be representing me.

Next time you see Jim McDermott, give him a slap on the back from me, my wife Ami, and our daughter Frances. Because although we don’t live in his district, he is doing a better job of representing us than you are.

Very sincerely,
Ruby Kane

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