As a married gay man, I am recalling the opposition to my marriage from the folks who opposed the 2012 Referendum 74. They claimed it would lead to a variety of social ills such as bigamy, polygamy, poor child rearing, and the harm/destruction of the institution. Here we are, well over a year later, and none of those societal ills have happened. Instead, thousands of gay/lesbian Washingtonians have joined our straight counterparts in sharing the institution.
Those alarmists who fear change were shown once again that fear and hatred are not the way forward. Instead, love and understanding are the keys to a society that truly honors its citizens.
Troy Haliwell
Vancouver