Dear Editor,

I’m writing in response to Steve Shay’s article about Ref. 71 earlier this week. I want to say that Referendum 71 is not “the latest assault to marriage” as he notes a member of the opposition stated, but rather it is just a continuation of rights that are already in place, rights that should belong to each member of any life-long committed relationship.

Ref. 71 does not change the status of the partnership, but merely ensures that the people within it are protected, as well as assuring that the single-parent families that are “not the best way to raise a child” don’t turn into families with zero parents and kids in foster care while the surviving partner jumps through hoops to legally get their child back.

Lauren Myers
Tacoma