We would like to address the concerns you've highlighted in your submission to the Senate inquiry into the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2010, and discuss their broader implications. We would also like to give you the opportunity to meet us, and our families, to help broaden your understanding of this complex and topical issue. We note that the Australian Medical Association, which represents more than 27,000 doctors, has already dismissed your submission as going against the general consensus of doctors and the majority of research. We are sure that you have heard from many sources with research, facts and figures. We hope to offer you the insight that comes from lives lived in a family with same-sex parents. We were raised in supportive, loving environments by parents who were willing to defy expectation and discrimination in order to create families. We knew we were loved, cherished and wanted. We believe, having lived this experience ourselves, that children need love, stability and security, not two parents of opposite gender. We have learned that family is more than biology. It is the community you create. Family is shared memories, facing hardship together, building a life together. Family is laughter and dinner table conversation, arguing about who is going to do the washing up, listening to music in the car on the way to sports or music practice, birthday parties, trips to the beach, crying to one of your parents after your first break up, celebrating your graduation, chatting about current affairs and