CRAIG MCPIKE

I will miss the 25-year reunion and catching up with old friends. This past Memorial Day, my soul mate and I were married after almost 12 years of being together and 14 years of friendship during a weekend getaway to California. Even after so many years together, the ability to be recognized as a married couple legally is surprisingly reassuring and has unexpectedly strengthened what was already a healthy, committed relationship. Many thanks to all who have supported marriage equality.

And to those who are skeptical about the current evolution of this legal recognition that is so fundamental to us all, please know that our goal is not to suppress religious or any other freedom; rather, we simply want to be treated the same under our civil legal system. We support both the freedom to exercise one's own religion AND the right to be free from government endorsement of any particular religious view...the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause, respectively, of the First Amendment to our U.S. Constitution guarantee both, after all....