To the writer of “Religious Freedom” (2/16), and all the others who seem to think that gay marriage is encroaching on your religious rights, I respectfully disagree. The option of “civil union” as a remedy for the lack of marriageability parallels the logical lines of “separate but equal.”
Allowing gay people to live together, but not allowing them this ultimate display of commitment to each other is cruel. How does a personal choice of two that are in love affect you? By not allowing gay couples to marry, you are denying them their right to happiness. You are using religious beliefs (because yes, the belief that homosexuality is wrong is, in fact, a religious belief) to constrain rights due to these people by the state.
Fear of homosexual union is homophobia. Marriage between homosexuals does not destroy marriage, we already seem to be doing that fine by ourselves. I know that many do not agree with their lifestyle, but that does not give anyone the power to deny them their right.
A homosexual person can love just as much as a heterosexual one. I know it’s hard to see the other side of something that many believe to be abominable, but the time has come to stop repeating history and to start accepting those who are different than the majority.
JOSHUA DUNN
Spokane, Wash.
