Hello, I am a student, and I write this not as an angry gay person, as I am neither gay nor angry. I write this in response to your article about California not being ready for gay marriage.
I agree with you in that it will get shot down. I also agree that eventually it will pass.
I don’t understand how religion and morality come into play with the government and civil rights.
From where I stand, being neither religious, political or gay, it seems like a simple issue of civil rights. What the gays want is the name “marriage.”
A lot of people whom I’ve talked to about this agree this is the main battle, as gays have domestic partnerships. Domestic partnerships have all the benefits of a marriage, but the only difference I can see between them is the name. I thought it was silly to fight over something as simple as a name, but really if you think about it, it’s not.
Back when blacks were segregated, there was “separate but equal.” In theory, this issomething that makes sense.
You have your bathroom and we have ours. The plain fact of the matter is that discrimination is discrimination, separate but equal wasn’t going to fly.
The issue of gay marriage is the same thing. They just want the same name, the same legal name.
They don’t want to be married in a church or have a church recognize they are married.
They want the law and the government to recognize this. Besides there are already places (churches) that marry gay people, so you don’t have to worry about them trying to get married in your church or anyone that doesn’t want that.
You are a faithful person, and I assume that your morality is shaped by your faith. I completely respect you and your decision. You have the right to think what you do and vote the way that you do.
However the government isn’t a religious organization (or at least it shouldn’t be). The morality of the government is shaped by the laws (or at least it should be).
I agree that a lot of it can be traced back to religion and that is historical fact. Our country bases itself on freedom and equality.
We are not equal if everyone doesn’t have the same rights. Whatever religions want to do is their own business, but the law must make things equal for all.
Lastly you state that we should not have a state-wide “Harvey Milk Day,” since religious holidays are not observed in public schools. If we don’t have Harvey Milk Day then maybe we shouldn’t have Martin Luther King Jr. Day either. Since blacks are a minority group.
The point I’m trying to make is that sexual orientation and ethnicity are things that we do not choose. I didn’t ask to be born black, nor did Harvey Milk ask to be born gay. I’m also fairly certain that I wasn’t born catholic, and that you weren’t born (whatever religion you are).
Something like religion is a choice, and it’s separate from the government. Besides, we already get winter break (Christmas) and spring break (Easter) off, and you cant tell me those aren’t religiously based?
–Jesse Horne
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