I am currently processing the amazing brief submitted on behalf of the plaintiffs in the Prop 8 case.

I am thrilled with the simple brilliance of the arguments presented. I am saddened as I think about the institutionalized discrimination that has been, and still is, the norm. There is no group in American society who has been targeted by ballot initiatives more than gays and lesbians. It isnt always pleasant to process reality. It is disconcerting when the religious institution of your upbringing, neighbors, former classmates and even some of your closest blood relatives vehemently and self-righteously perpetuate discrimination. Not all of the aforementioned fall into this category and for those people I am extremely thankful. I am thankful for those active Mormon friends and relatives who love and embrace my family. However the discrimination is real and the call to uphold it is echoed in the amicus brief filed by the Mormon Church. "The more valued the institution from which a class is excluded, the more injurious the inequality - - then the stronger the self-justifications for the inequality becomes". The antiquity of a practice does not insulate if from constitutional attack. The fact that people I know support an action that denies gay men and lesbians their identity and dignity and labels their families as second-rate is mind bending. I hope to make a small difference. I hope that people who know me, or have known me, might pause for just a moment. I am the same person you have always known. Any positive attribute you may have granted I once possessed; I suggest I still do. I feel it is important that you associate what is going on with someone you know. I have spent 15 wonderful years with Miguel. Our love, our commitment is not less than. Until two years ago, we were not married. We had not committed legally to each other. In difficult moments, we could have walked away from our commitment relatively easily. We did not. I believe that perhaps, that level of commitment and love may be considered more than. I respect and support the right to disagree, for whatever reason, with same-sex marriage. However, your beliefs, even the beliefs of the majority, cannot be the basis of oppression. "It is beyond peradventure, however, that a tradition of discrimination - - no matter how continuous or longstanding--cannot justify the perpetual marginalization and exclusion of a minority group."