The year was 2004. My daughter was just a few months old and, since her birth, I had been on fulltime caregiving duty as a stay-at-home dad. Months of little sleep, hours of isolation in the nursery and too much time in front of the television watching DNA testing on "Maury" had taken its toll.

Knowing of my interest in Democratic politics, a friend sent me a note asking me to attend a kickoff for the 2004 "Call to Action" sponsored by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party. My partner, Jim - supportive of my need for greater adult interaction - offered to watch our baby so I could attend this grassroots, community-organizing event designed to ensure a Democratic victory in the November election.

Quietly strolling into the room packed with grassroots Democratic activists, I felt right at home with these like-minded Democrats who shared my passions for good government and reasonable public policy that would improve the quality of life for working families. Almost instantly, I knew that attending this community-wide"Call to Action" was, in fact, a personal call to action that was likely leading me to a brand new world.

Within a few short months, inspired by my new friends with the local Democratic Party, I founded a new Democratic club - the Silicon Valley LGBT Democratic Club. Later that year, with my infant daughter in tow, I organized a weekend bus trip of 80 gays and lesbians traveling to Reno, Nevada to help Senator John Kerry's efforts in this nearby battleground state. Despite the 2004 loss that had driven my interest in local Democratic politics, I was now a valued part of the local Democratic coalition.

In 2004, little did I know that attending that first "Call to Action" would later lead to being chosen for the 2006 Madge Overhouse "Volunteer of the Year" Award, to be elected one of the leaders of the LGBT Caucus of the California Democratic Party or even to my own 2006 bid for elected public office.

On Saturday morning, I attended the first 2008 "Call to Action" and was once again inspired by the boundless energy of so many fellow Democrats determined to win back the White House. No longer a stranger as I was now among so many friends, I couldn't help but wonder what new faces in the crowd might be one of our newest Democratic leaders or a future candidate for public office.

As I know so well, the collective "Call to Action" can also be a personal call to action that will forever change your life. I urge you to attend a future meeting of the 2008 "Call to Action" and join me and so many of your Democratic neighbors in working collectively to take back the White House!

In California, registered domestic partners have now been granted greater equal rights including the responsibility to file joint state tax returns. However, since the federal government still offers no legal recognition of gay and lesbian families (including my own family that includes my longtime partner and our 4-year old daughter), completing this joint state return has put many California families in a tax quandry.

Nonetheless, we're doing everything we can to comply with the new state law. As I can't wait to get my hands on our expected tax rebate, I dutifully completed our tax returns as TurboTax recommends: - complete and file the individual federal returns and then create a faux married federal return for the sole purpose of completing the state tax return.

After spending hours in completing a "married" federal return that I had no intention of filing, I was shocked to learn that my family was being severely penalized by the federal tax code. You see, if we were allowed to file a federal return as a legally married couple, we would be paying $7,000 LESS in federal taxes. That's right - we're being penalized $7,000 by the federal government even though the state of California has affirmed our family status as registered domestic partners.

I always assumed that LGBT American families were paying more in taxes than legally married people but I had no idea that the penalties were so great. Clearly, LGBT families are being punished by the federal tax code. All Americans who believe in tax fairness ought to be aware of this violation of the 14th amendment and join with the Democratic Party in fighting for equal rights for all Americans.