I visited the excellent site: http://www.lobbyalord.org and drew the Viscount Waverley. This is what I wrote. Please don’t copy and paste it; however I hope it gives people ideas.

Dear Viscount Waverley

I hope you will forgive the presumption of an unknown individual writing to you about the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, the second reading debate on which is due in the House of Lords early next week.

I am one half of a longstanding gay couple. I am a successful lawyer; my civil partner is an equally successful school head teacher. We have been together in a monogamous relationship, expected to be lifelong, for nearly 20 years. We contribute to the life of the community as a stable and (I like to think) respected couple within our family, our respective workplaces and the other communities in which we play a role. Had we “married” younger we would, I am sure, have raised a family of our own.

The relationship we have can only be described as a marriage. We believe that we – and hundreds of thousands of couples like us – who are contributing to the stability and prosperity of the country should be correctly described as what we are, a married couple, a family.

I do hope you will feel able to support the Bill on second reading and through its subsequent progress through the House. In doing do you will be supporting the clearly expressed will of the elected chamber; the will of the public; and in particular the will of the younger and middle generations (shown over and again in opinion polls carried out by reputabe polling companies); and doing basic justice to people like my partner and me.

I do hope that we can count on your support.

Thank you for reading this and I am at your disposal to answer any questions you may have.

Yours sincerely

Harry Small