i have a niece, ruby, who is the most well-adjusted, normal 1.5 year-old that anyone could ever ask for. she's smart as a whip, cute as a button, likes to give her uncle kisses when he asks [ which makes him so very, very happy ], likes to dance, likes to give her food to dogs and loves to take pictures. ruby is all these things and much, much more; as uncle walt would say, she is big - she contains multitudes . it just so happens that ruby's parents are lesbians. of course, ruby doesn't care, despite the fact that many other people might.

i'm very proud that ruby's parent's are featured in a chicago tribune article on gay marriage [ free registration might be required ]. it's astounding to me in 2003 that sane people can't differentiate between the religious and civil implications of marriage:

""Some people are upset because they see marriage as a religious institution, and it is for many people, but it is also a civil institution. The Pope decides what unions the Catholic Church will recognize, and that's fine. A same-sex marriage wouldn't change that. It wouldn't force any religion to do that if it didn't want to.""

ruby has parents and a circle of support that would make any child from heterosexual parents envious. gina and diane should be allowed the same rights as any other couple and to deny them those rights is unconscionable. if you think otherwise you're ignorant and support politicians who are practicing ostrich politics of the worst sort and you should be ashamed:

"Ostrich Politics is about sticking your head in the sand and refusing to view immoveable facts as a practical, reasonable basis for policy. Will pushing abstinence by instilling fear actually stop people from having sex? No, say the studies: people are simply going to have sex. Except they might have unsafe sex because the information about safe sex is not being made available. Will refusing to recognize gay couples (10% of the population) somehow make them go away? No, say the scientists. Homosexuality is not a disease. It can't be "cured," and doctors have known that since the 1970s. Homosexuality just is. It's a fact. Yet life-long homosexual partners are forced to live their dedicated, loving relationship in a social no-man's land, without proper healthcare support, government benefits, or inheritance rights.

Faced with facts they don't like, Ostrich Politicians choose to ignore them and enact policy that would make sense if these facts never existed. Not only will this fail to achieve intended goals, but the actual results are disastrous: more people having unprotected sex, and more citizens ostracized by the government. "