Thank you, Michael and Sabine, for toasting and acknowledging a gay couple’s commitment to each other. Thanks for pointing out the similarities, not the differences.

Thanks for being brave, Michael, in the face of community criticism. Thanks for being braver than me.

I’m the other half of a gay couple. I’m the partner not biologically connected to the kids I’m helping to raise here. I’m the unrecognized spouse that can’t qualify for benefits under my partner’s health, auto or home insurance because I’m the same sex.

Hi, folks! I don’t care if it’s called marriage or civil union. I just want to be able to commit to my partner the same as you can commit to yours and I want that commitment recognized and respected by my community. Is that really so different?

Name withheld