I read with interest your article describing the plight of same-sex binational couples. I wish more people, including our own government, would recognize the sincerity and value of these unions.

My reason for writing to you today is my objection to the caption under the photo of Marta and Leslie. It reads, "... were joined in a 'commitment' ceremony ..." Putting the word commitment in quotes trivializes the commitment Marta and Leslie surely feel for each other. If your newspaper had run a photo of me and my husband and referred to our wedding day as our 'wedding ceremony' or our 'marriage' ceremony,' I am sure I would have felt as though you were making fun of my wedding or marriage or in Leslie and Marta's case, their commitment.

It wasn't a 'commitment' ceremony. It was a commitment ceremony, due all the respect and honor my government-sanctioned, heterosexual wedding ceremony and union has enjoyed. I am certain the caption wasn't a deliberate act to make fun of their commitment. I do hope, though, that by writing this letter I help raise your awareness of how different some people are treated by virtue of their race, their gender, or in this case, their sexual preference, even if this discrimination is unintentional.

I have enclosed a second copy of this letter so that you might forward it to Marta and Leslie for me. I want to respect their privacy but also would like them to know their efforts are appreciated, even by a straight, married mother of three.

—Laurie Ann Weber, Sunnyvale