By LAUREN F. McCULLOUGH
The Constitution guarantees civil liberties to all Americans. But throughout history, portions of our society have been unwilling to accept this. These portions have denied rights to millions of blacks, immigrants, women, religious groups and homosexuals for a multitude of reasons, all “justifiable.” In 2004, the scenery has changed, but the plotline is the same.
However, today we have run out of excuses. We have lived through centuries of mindless discrimination, from the witch trials at Salem to colored water fountains in the South. We have seen over and over again how dangerous one man’s opinion can be when coupled with power. We have history as our guide – and we have no excuses.
There cannot be “separate but equal” appeasement for homosexuals. Civil unions are not a solution to the problem of gay marriage. They are a distraction. The solution is not amending our Constitution, but amending our minds to see past a person’s sexuality.
If society was truly concerned with preserving the sanctity of marriage, millions of taxpayer dollars would not be spent stressing marriage as an opportunity for the poor to receive financial benefits.
The bigger question that arises out of all the controversy is this: do we really want to live in a society where freedom is only a hope and not a guarantee?
What they say“If we are to prevent the meaning of marriage from being changed forever, our nation must enact a constitutional amendment to protect marriage in America. Marriage cannot be severed from its cultural, religious and natural roots without weakening the good influence of society.” -President George W. Bush “We as a society have no right to discriminate in marriage any more than we have the right to discriminate when someone votes or when someone wants to hold office. The people who would forbid gays from marrying in this country are those who would have made Rosa Parks sit in the back of the bus.” -New Paltz mayor Jason West
“Call it same-sex marriage, civil unions or domestic partnership, it is all part of a carefully calculated campaign to provide the appearance of normalcy to homosexual behavior. It will be unmasked and defeated, and President Bush’s leadership on this issue will make the difference.” -Rev. Louis Sheldon, chairman and founder of the Traditional Values Coalition
“Same-sex families pose no threat to this country or to other couples. The threat to families is a proposed amendment which would write discrimination into the Constitution for the first time ever.”-Gary Buseck, legal director at Lambda Legal, a gay and lesbian advocacy group
“I do not want to see the legacy of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison revised by President Bush under pressure from Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.”-Rev. Bary Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Blushing bride Rosie O’Donnell said she decided to marry Kelli Carpenter during her recent legal proceedings over Rosie magazine. “We applied for spousal privilege and were denied it by the state,” O’Donnell told the Associated Press. “As a result, everything that I said to Kelli, every letter that I wrote her, every e-mail, every correspondence and conversation was entered into the record. After the trial, I am now and will forever be a total proponent of gay marriage.”
The above information was provided through the courteous assistance of Sacramento-Valley CAPE (California Alliance of Pride and Equality).
