Dear Al Franken

Today you're going to break my daughter's heart.

You see, Beatrix was born (insured) with a heart condition. When we needed to get private insurance because we no longer had it through work, she was denied coverage.. When you found out about this, just recently, your office has been great about asking about her story and about making her feel like people like her matter to you. You've fought for what is right. You're a hero to her.

And now I'm going to have to explain that picture to her. And she's not going to understand why anyone would do that, or think it was funny. In Beatrix's world, things are pretty clear-cut. People get to marry the people they love. You treat everyone the same, no matter how they look, because it's what's inside that matters. Girls are just as good as boys are (ok, well, she probably thinks girls are  little better.)

Look, I've been in the performing arts my whole life, and I've been politically active, and I've been just a woman walking down the street. I've been assaulted, I've been harassed, and I've been in any number of situations where sexual dominance was considered "funny." But I don't want that for my daughter. I want something better than that. I wanted to think that people like you were better than that.

Please show us — show HER — that you are better than that. I don't even know what that looks like, because I believe in your values, and I want you to keep fighting for the things like healthcare that made you Beatrix's here in the first place. But I want you to show you understand that things like this are not ok.

And god, I just want my little girl to grow up retaining her faith in people.

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