"That old cry is worn out, Don."

'Fraid not. It's based on both sound psychology and a lot of observation. Both your obsession with the subject and your level of "disgust" tends to lend weight to the idea. Take a good look in the mirror!

And—just a point to further dash your hopes, O Bringer of Joy:   I don't believe that nature will thin out those with same-sex orientation, because humans have been on this planet for many hundreds of thousands—if not several millions—of years, and as long as the gene(s) that affect that particular area of the hypothalamus are in the gene pool, there will be people born with same-sex orientation. Sorry, O Bringer of Joy, but no joy for you! Nature is not going to solve your problem for you.

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The four same-sex couples I mention above all live in Washington State.

Washington State does have a law on the books that limits marriage to one man and one woman, but this is not in the State Constitution, and on April 21, 2007 Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed a bill that gives same-sex couples some of the legal rights of marriage in Washington State. That law offered very few benefits, but in March 2008, the Washington State Legislature passed a measure to expand the law to include more than 170 of the rights that are granted to heterosexual married couples.

In addition to granting rights to same-sex couples, Washington's law allows opposite sex couples who are over age 62 to enter into a domestic partnership so they will not lose their pensions and Social Security benefits.

As to the law limiting marriage to one man and one woman, this is in that same body of laws that prohibits business from being conducted on the Sabbath and levies a fine for shooting rabbits from a cable car on the Queen Anne Counterbalance.

The main opposition to changing these antiquated laws come from a number of churches. But there is no unanimity among them. A substantial number of churches, both in this area and nationwide, have joined the "Reconciled in Christ" movement and have signed the following statement:

"As a community of God striving to be inclusive and open to diversity, we welcome all people to join us as we struggle to better understand the mysteries of God's teaching and purposes for us. Although our world can seem to be a place of alienation and brokenness, Christ calls us to reconciliation and wholeness. We are challenged by Christ to care for, to love, to understand, and to listen to each other, regardless of our race, age, gender, marital status, physical and mental abilities, sexual/affectional orientation, national origin or economic status. We celebrate the special gifts that each has to bring."

And they were local "Reconciled in Christ" churches (a couple of different denominations) that married the couples I have mentioned—whether civil law recognizes the marriages or not. So "The Church" is not monolithic. Not all churches are in agreement on this issue, not matter what some of our Bible verse quoters seem to think.

But—Amos is absolutely right about this. This may be of religious interest to some, but religious belief should not be allowed to dictate legislation, and what certain religions may or may not believe should have no bearing whatsoever on matters of civil rights.

And this is a civil rights issue.

Marriage, in actual fact, existed long before such unions were given "the benefit of clergy."

As to the matter of procreation, some same-sex couples do want children. There are a couple of ways of accomplishing this. Perhaps the easiest method is adoption. Twice now, the two attorneys I mentioned above have made trips to China and adopted infants from a Chinese orphanage, and are raising them. These kids are going to have a much better life with Steve ("Daddy") and Dave ("Papa") as their parents. Granted, it's not a conventional family life, but it's far better for them than no family life at all. And Steve and Dave have the resources to see that these kids get good educations and have everything they need. There are a lot of kids in the world who are not so lucky.

Don Firth