I believe that if two people are in love even if they are both male or female they should have the same rights as a male and female couple. I am a male very much in love with my wife who is female, but I know in my heart that the love they feel as a same sex couple is no different than ours. All the benefits we have with marriage should not be denied to same sex couples. Calling it civil unions would just be a form of discrimination similar to the separate but equal laws that were once tried in our history with African Americans and Caucasians. Claiming that the love my wife and I share is any better, or different in any way is unfair, insulting and degrading to the same sex couples of Oregon. In my opinion it is a violation of their civil rights as citizens of our state.
Why is this important?
Same sex couples deserve the same rights that my wife and I receive as a male and female couple. My view has evolved to this position only within the last couple of years and was personally impacted by the position taken by Republican State Representative Maureen Walsh of Washington state. Please search online for her statement, all I can say is I agree exactly to what she said.
