Government shouldn’t dictate who we can marry

As the mother of a 2-1/2-year-old son, family has a very literal meaning to me.

It means the love I have for my son, the support and commitment I receive daily from my family as I raise him, and the hopes I have for his future when someday he meets someone special and decides to start his own family.

Family is love and commitment; it’s the support we give each other no matter what. It’s being there for those we love during the good times and bad.

I see this same value for family in the same-sex couples I know. Their relationship is no different: they love their children, they love their families, and they support one another.

Yet, same-sex couples cannot make the decision to marry and go to city hall and get a civil marriage license. It doesn’t make any sense to me.

I’m a registered Republican and I simply don’t believe our government should dictate who we can or cannot marry.

It’s time our state law caught up with Mainers’ sense of family values.

I’m voting yes on Question One.

Michelle Ayotte

Readfield