My spouse and I are proud to have been part of this step to fight the anti-marriage Proposition 8 constitutional amendment in California. This was sent out today (July 22, 2008) to Equality California‘s email list. I’ve edited it slightly to fit the blog format.

Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:58:38 -0700
From: “Jim & Kate DeLaHunt for Equality California” <email @ eqca.org>
Subject: Why we’ll match your donation today

Ten years ago, we decided to take the plunge.
We got married.

Standing at our side were our friends, Rich and Chris. I don’t think we would have gotten married without their good example. Their household was filled with love and laughter, and the just and equitable relationship they built was an inspiration for us.

 Jim & Kate DeLaHunt

 Jim & Kate DeLaHunt

It’s just plain unfair that we, a straight couple, could exercise our fundamental right to choose each other in marriage, while our friends couldn’t tie the knot – despite 12 years together. Rich and Chris chose each other and lead a happy life together. They bought property together, raised (and lost) a dog together and went to night school together. Yet because they are both male, they were denied the ability to marry each other.

You can imagine how thrilled we are to stand with them at their wedding next month! Finally, after 22 years, their relationship will get the recognition it deserves. It’s about time!

Unfortunately, there are people who think Rich and Chris should have something less than marriage. These same people profess family values, yet they do not want loving families to have the security of marriage. These are the people who are behind Proposition 8, the divisive initiative on the November ballot [in California] that would take away the freedom to marry from same-gender couples like Rich and Chris.

We were so inspired by Ambassador Hormel’s recent $100,000 donation to the NO on 8 – Equality California fund, that we wanted to step up too. We will match up to $10,000 in contributions made in response to this email request. This is a big amount for us, but we believe so firmly in this cause.

NO on 8Equality California

P.S. for the blog: why does my spouse go by the name “Kate DeLaHunt” in this message, when normally she used the name “Ducky Sherwood”? Because we want to communicate that we are a straight, married couple. The name “Ducky” is confusing for many people, and isn’t obviously female.  A shared last name connotes “couple” more strongly than do different last names. Think of “Kate DeLaHunt” as her title, just as “Mr Sherwood” is my title at times.