Arizona (IX) Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords

Today I conclude my correspondence with Arizona's congressional delegation with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Democrat, representative of Arizona's 8th Congressional District:

Dear Congresswoman Giffords,

I write to you as a fellow Democrat and concerned citizen to request your support for a Constitutional amendment recognizing the rights of same-sex couples to marry. Since being elected to your first term in 2006, you have been recognized as a dynamic and rising new force in the Democratic caucus, championing immigration reform, alternative energy development, and fiscal restraint. Though you have not seen fit to join your colleagues int the LGBT Equality Caucus, your voting record shows you sympathetic to the concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens. You received an 81% on the Human Rights Campaign Congressional Scorecard.

Your romance with and marriage to Mark Kelly during your first term in Congress is already the stuff of fable. Imagine, Congresswoman, if having found the one person with whom you felt destined to be, you were kept from solemnizing your union by arbitrary and discriminatory laws. As someone new to the institution of marriage you understand its life-altering potential. Indeed, as you may be aware, the federal Government Accountability Office lists 1, 138 legal protections, privileges, and benefits that accrue to a married couple under federal law. Like you I have been fortunate to find the one partner to accompany me in life, and since we are different genders we are able to enjoy the legal rights that flow from the marital bond. Millions of citizens whose chosen partners are of the same gender are unjustly denied these rights, however.

The calamity of Proposition 8 in California demonstrates that Americans' marriage rights will never be fully secure until they are Constitutionally guaranteed. Our basic law must thus be amended to read: "The right to marry shall not be abridged or denied by the United States or any state on account of sex or sexual orientation." Until such an amendment is ratified millions of couples will be denied the legal protections and benefits that are naturally theirs by right.

I appeal to your obvious sense of dedication and patriotism, Congresswoman. Please lend your sponsorship to this amendment, or one like it, in coordination with your colleagues in the House and Senate. You have already distinguished yourself as a natural leader, will you take up the mantle of leadership yet again? In any case I trust you to give this issue due consideration, and to act conscientiously.

Thank you for your attention, I hope this message finds you well.

Sincerely,

Andrew Meyer