Dear Editor,

Thank you for your cover story, "Fighting for their family's value" (December 28). Reporter Rebekah Schilperoort did an excellent job introducing us to the Fleissner-Gamache family and reporting on the issue of marriage equality for same-sex couples. Your article is well-timed. Our state supreme court will rule any week now on this matter of vital importance to tens of thousands of same-sex couples in Washington - many of them, like the Fleissner-Gamaches, parents of children.

Marriage is a positive force, bringing stability, legal protections and responsibilities to families of all kinds, same- or opposite-sex, with or without children. Same-sex couples currently have access to every aspect of marriage except one. We can have a ceremony, our marriage can be recognized by our faith and by our families and friends, and we have the same level of personal commitment as do opposite-sex couples. The only thing our marriages lack is the legal recognition from our government. Yet this legal status is a critical missing piece, as 400 state laws and 1,100 federal laws hinge on marital status.

Six thousand same-sex couples have legally married in Massachusetts in the time it's been available there. The state has neither fallen into the ocean nor have the marriages of opposite-sex couples been affected in any way. Likewise, religions have not been affected. This is an issue of legal marriage, granted only by the state, leaving religions to continue deciding for themselves which weddings they will conduct.

The subjects of your article were married in Oregon while we were married in San Francisco. We and the Fleissner-Gamaches were forcibly divorced by the government several months later. During those months, our marriages harmed no one and we demonstrated the ability to treat marriage with the honor it deserves. We eagerly look forward to being able to marry again, permanently, in our home state. It will be a tremendous step forward, as this will grant us access to the 400 state laws involving marriage - but not the 1,100 federal laws. Until our federal government also recognizes our marriages, same-sex couples will still be second-class citizens.

If our court rules for fairness and equality, Washingtonians will find that recognizing the right of same-sex couples to marry will mean simply that their friends, neighbors, and family members will finally have more of the same rights and responsibilities in taking care of each other and raising their families.

Ken Molsberry & Chris Vincent

Ballard