In his Oct. 10 letter to the editor, Carl Dodrill warns that by passing R-74 — and thereby allowing same-sex couples to wed — voters will open the door to incestuous and polygamous unions.

The truth is, marriage among close family members or multiple people won’t happen any time soon because both violate Washington state law. Marrying someone of the same sex does, too. But here’s the deal: a law gets changed when there’s enough public support for it. Civil marriage between two loving same-sex adults has that support. That’s why our legislature passed it, the governor signed it, and a host of businesses, including Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks and Nordstrom, back it. So do many churches, synagogues, labor unions and social-service agencies. Now it’s up to us, the voters, to do the right thing and make it a reality.

Mr. Dodrill, do you favor polygamy or allowing close relatives to marry each other? If so, can you generate enough support to get those ideas through our legislature? Can anyone? Probably not, and that’s why they’re non-starters and your fears are baseless. As a volunteer for Washington United for Marriage, I’ve seen the support for equality up close. I’ve seen it from same-sex couples who have been together for decades and wish to be married like everyone else. I’ve seen it from parents saddened that their gay or lesbian children have had to remain single. I’ve seen it from straight adults who say it’s a matter of fairness. A “yes” vote on R-74 reaffirms the importance of marriage rather than threatening it. It guarantees churches the right to decide which couples they’ll marry. So isn’t it about time to abandon false fears and support the equal right of all loving adults to wed?

Elizabeth Rhodes