Dear Congressman,
I am so very saddend by you vote on the Marriage Protection Act. In this day and age, working to pass legislation that enshrines discrimination is wrong and voting for an act that limits the power of our federal courts and spits on the 'full faith and credit' clause of the Constitution is disturbing, whatever your personal views.

Arizona has a very large gay, lesbian and transgender community, many of whom live in your district. By voting for this bill you have raised your middle finger to this minority group. I would like to understand why your kind of love is more important that mine, why your relationship with your spouse deserves recognition and mine does not. This country was built on equal rights for all of its people, an expanding circle that used only to include rich white men but which has progressively grown to encompass more and more of its citizens. It was also built on the seperation of church and state, a principle that legislation such as this and the Defense of Marriage Act willfully violate.

Having watched this vote with great interest, we have done a great deal of research into your stands on issues and your voting record. Fortunately, this has expanded our understanding of the political environment in Arizona. Unfortunately, I will not be able to give you my vote come election time and neither will my husband.

America has a great history of showing politicians that when they do the wrong thing we as a country do the right thing. Absent that great drive, African Americans and women would still be property and mixed-race marriages would be illegal.

I feel that you need recognise that there are many of us out there, and that Arizona is no longer the land of arch-conservatives many people have long believed it to be, though I'm sure your corporate donors will stand beside you long after the public has deserted you. The fate of our long heritage as a free society rests on the outcome of that standoff. The Constitution is not your plaything.

Regretfully,
Mason Hite and Chris Devine
Phoenix Az