ms. murray lives with her wife karen in parisburg, vermont. she's a partner in the law firm of -- [inaudible] in burlington, vermont, that is one of the leading law firms of our state. she specializes in family law appeals, estate planning and civil rights. she was co-counsel in baker v. state of vermont which established civil unions in the vermont. ms. murray, please, go ahead. >> thank you, chairman leahy, fellow vermonter, and thank you, senator grassley, and the other members of the committee, for allowing me to testify here today. i'm the oldest of seven children, came from a good catholic family, and i had a great childhood. my mom and dad were completely devoted to us kids. but they're also devoted to each other. they were happily married for 51 years before my dad died six years ago. sorry. so that was my model of a successful marriage. that's what i wanted for myself. when i realized as a young adult that i was gay, i didn't think that i would ever have the opportunity to have that same kind of a life that my parents had. and then i