My wife and I are retired educators with nearly 70 combined years of experience working with young people.

We would like to share our views concerning the upcoming vote on same-sex marriage.

We frequently go back to central Maine where we taught for the majority of our careers to visit with “our kids” at their class reunions. Of course, they are not actually kids anymore, but adults with fulfilling careers and families of their own.

Several of our former students are now living openly gay lives. When we think back to their high school days, we remember these students as young people who made major contributions to their schools and communities. They were brilliant scholars, outstanding athletes, talented performers and class leaders, and all of them whom we knew were well liked and respected by their peers and teachers.

Today, they are still bright, talented men and women making their mark in the world. It hasn’t been an easy road for them. They have had to make difficult decisions and often endure heart-wrenching pain at home.

It makes us very sad to think that some also have faced prejudice in their work place and communities.

Over the years, Ann and I have gotten to know these people personally and are proud to call them not only our kids, but also our friends. We know their parents and their brothers and sisters.

And we know how much it would mean to them and their families to have the opportunity to legally marry the person they love and with whom they hope to spend the rest of their lives.

We hope voters will find it in their hearts to give all citizens of Maine the opportunity and the legal right to marry the person they choose.

Frank and Ann Davis

TA R7

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