• Make as many copies as you need.
• Invite friends over for a potluck dinner and ask them to sign the letters.
• Pass the hat and ask for donations for postage.
• Stuff the envelopes and drop them in the mail.
  

To The Honorable ______________,

As your constituent, I am writing to ask you to sponsor or support any legislation that grants legal protection for same-sex partners, especially the right to legally marry.

This is not about asking you to grant gay and lesbian couples "special rights", but rather, to extend to us the same rights that other couples enjoy by law, even by constitutional mandate.

It has been said that gays and lesbians make up 10% of the US population. If so, then ninety percent of American citizens are heterosexual. This 90% already have the right to choose whom they will marry and they consider this right to be a fundamental right that is protected by the US Constitution. Why, then, should it be considered a "special" right to extend the same Constitutional protections to the remaining 10% of US citizens?

The real problem with the special rights argument is that it assumes that all citizens are already treated equally, so therefore any rights gay people are being granted must therefore be special. That is most assuredly not the case, especially regarding marriage and all the legal protections that go along with it.

I am aware of the many arguments used to oppose gay marriage. A frequently heard argument is that marriage is an institution between one man and one woman. This argument is even codified in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a recently passed U.S. federal law. Who gets to define marriage? Married people? People who already have the legal right to marry? Isn't that kind of like allowing a banker to decide who is going to own the money that is stored in his vault?

Another often expressed reason for denying equal rights to gays and lesbians is that same-sex relationships are immoral. Says who? The Bible? I have always believed that freedom of religion implied the right to freedom from religion as well. The Bible has no legal standing in American law, and because it doesn't, no one has the right to impose rules on anyone else simply because they perceive it to be mandated by the Bible.

In fact, some religions do not have a problem with homosexuality. Many sects of Buddhism, for example, celebrate gay relationships freely and would like to have the authority to sanctify them as legal marriages. From this perspective, religious freedoms of certain Buddhist sects are being infringed. If you believe in religious freedom your belief alone is reason enough to discount the immorality argument.

The argument that same-sex marriage would threaten the institution of marriage is contradictory on its face. Threaten marriage? By allowing people to marry? That doesn't sound very logical to me. If you allow gay and lesbian people to marry each other, you no longer encourage them to marry people to whom they feel little attraction, and the results may be fewer divorces.

To say marriage is traditionally a heterosexual institution is morally the weakest argument. Slavery was also a traditional institution, based on traditions that went back to the very beginnings of human history. But by the 19th century, humankind had realized the evils of that institution, and has since largely abolished it. Why not recognize the truth -- that there is no moral ground on which to support the tradition of marriage as a strictly heterosexual institution, and remove the restriction?

The very basis of the American ideal is that our government does not deny its citizens their basic civil rights unless there is a compelling reason to do so. Whether you agree with the gay and lesbian lifestyle or not, unless you can show a compelling reason to do so, you should not pass laws that deny us legal protections, especially the right to legally marry.

The vague arguments discussed above are mere expressions of prejudice and not compelling reasons to deny civil rights to your gay and lesbian constituents. Please do what is right and vote for legislation that honors and respects my relationship and my right as an American citizen to be treated equally. Thank you for taking time to read and respond to my letter.

Sincerely,

These tips will help increase the effectiveness of your letter:

• Keep it brief: Letters should never be longer than one page, and should be limited to one issue. Legislative aides read many letters on many issues in a day, so your letter should be as concise as possible.
• State Who Your Are and What You Want Up Front: In the first paragraph, tell your legislators that you are a constituent and identify the issue about which you are writing. If your letters pertains to a specific piece of legislation, it helps to identify it by its bill number (e.g. H.R. ____ or S._____).
• Hit your three most important points: Choose the three strongest points that will be most effective in persuading legislators to support your position and flesh them out.
• Personalize your letter: Tell your elected official why this legislation matters in his community or state. If you have one, include a personal story that shows how this issue affects you and your family. A constituent's personal stories can be the very persuasive as your legislator shapes his or her position.
• Personalize your relationship: Have you ever voted for this elected official? Have you ever contributed time or money to his or her campaign? Are you familiar with her through any business or personal relationship? If so, tell your elected official or his staff person. The closer your legislator feels to you, the more powerful your argument is likely to be.
• You are the Expert: Remember that your legislator's job is to represent you. You should be courteous and to the point, but don't be afraid to take a firm position. Remember that often your elected official may know no more about a given issue than you do.