David Boies, the attorney who is part of a bi-partisan effort to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage, writes an excellent counter-offensive to opponents of marriage equality in the Wall Street Journal.
The occasional suggestion that marriages between people of different sexes may somehow be threatened by marriages of people of the same sex does not withstand discussion. It is difficult to the point of impossibility to envision two love-struck heterosexuals contemplating marriage to decide against it because gays and lesbians also have the right to marry; it is equally hard to envision a couple whose marriage is troubled basing the decision of whether to divorce on whether their gay neighbors are married or living in a domestic partnership. And even if depriving lesbians of the right to marry each other could force them into marrying someone they do not love but who happens to be of the opposite sex, it is impossible to see how that could be thought to be as likely to lead to a stable, loving relationship as a marriage to the person they do love.
Moreover, there is no longer any credible contention that depriving gays and lesbians of basic rights will cause them to change their sexual orientation. Even if there was, the attempt would be constitutionally defective. But, in fact, the sexual orientation of gays and lesbians is as much a God-given characteristic as the color of their skin or the sexual orientation of their straight brothers and sisters. It is also a condition that, like race, has historically been subject to abusive and often violent discrimination. It is precisely where a minority’s basic human rights are abridged that our Constitution’s promise of due process and equal protection is most vital.
It is time to end discrimination against gays and lesbians and allow marriage rights for all.
Republican Jesse Levey is the son of two Lesbian mothers, and knows about strong family values. That is why he supports marriage equality.
“The conservative argument for family values is that we should be in married couples; I agree,” Levey says. “If we want to see children raised by married couples, then we should let gay people get married.”
A Republican lobbying for same-sex marriages might seem odd, but Levey says he embraces the conservative notion of individual freedom. He became a Republican at 12. Once, he sought permission for his middle school class to listen to Rush Limbaugh (he says he no longer listens to Limbaugh).
“When you grow up with Lesbian mothers, you can’t get your ears pierced to rebel,” he says. “I became a Republican.”
Today, Levey sees his parents’ choice not as an expression of rebellion, but as a desire for something that’s actually a conservative virtue — a loving family.
“I believe in family values, but family is about taking care of your children and respecting one another,” he says. “It doesn’t matter what your sexual orientation is.”
It doesn’t matter whether you are Republican or Democrat, if you believe in family values, then you should believe those values should apply to all families.
Milford A. Decker of Utica, the president of Pride Among the Mokawk, argues that marriage equality isn’t just fair and right, it is also good politics, in a letter to the Syracuse Post-Standard.
We pay taxes, are good neighbors, co-workers, parents, church members and voters. We want the same things other citizens strive for: to be productive; seek loving, committed relationships; and to be full members of a society that values all of its diverse members.
States that have experimented with civil unions have found them lacking, creating a “caste system” of sub-citizens who are not equal. These distinctions caused a nightmare of bureaucratic paperwork, unnecessary if all had equal access to civil marriage.
If you believe in limited government and personal freedoms–true, conservative values–then it makes sense to back marriage rights for all couples!
In a letter to the Waterton Daily Times, Tammy Hall of Carthage rebuts the assertion that allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry will somehow harm the children of opposite-sex couples.
This does not damage our children or families. It strengthens them by teaching our children humanity and compassion for the human condition.
You will, of course, believe as you wish. But please do not let unfounded fear stand in the way of another human being’s basic human rights. If your heterosexual children are exposed to homosexual couples, they will not suddenly become homosexual. They will simply see the love and go about their lives. That is what children do.
If homosexual couples express love, commitment, honor and respect in a ceremony which provides a piece of paper with rights attached, nothing is taken from the heterosexual marriage. It will still exist as an expression of love and commitment.
The debate over same-sex marriage across the nation does, in many ways, send the message to the children that it is okay to discriminate against others’ and their love, and sends the wrond message to children who may one day grow up to be gay or lesbian.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney continues to speak loudly and clearly on the conservative case for marriage equality.
“I think that freedom means freedom for everyone,” replied the former V.P. “As many of you know, one of my daughters is gay and it is something we have lived with for a long time in our family. I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish. Any kind of arrangement they wish.”
You can make the case for marriage equality by taking action now!
