The Dangerous Mine Field on a Gay Marriage Ban
By Mary MacElveen , Feb 27, 2004

I have been thinking all day concerning Pres. Bush's approval of a Gay marriage ban to our U.S. Constitution and wonder how people who believe in the very core of this government can deny anyone the right to get married. After all, it was Thomas Jefferson who said this, "We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Then again, this is not surprising from the man who gave us the U.S.A. Patriot Act and its sequel Patriot Act 2.

First, do we even have the right to interfere in their personal life if what it brings is liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Especially, if it is between consenting adults. Some may argue that it is abhorrent and I would state back to them that supporting a war of lies that takes lives is far more abhorrent to the human condition.

Some may say that it is abhorrent to support these marriages and to them, I would say, it is far more abhorrent to the human condition to have people going hungry in this country. How about a Constitutional ban on hunger?

Some will say that these marriages are abhorrent, but to the human condition poverty trumps that where people are forced from their homes due to foreclosure because of lost jobs, a rise in local property taxes where people can no longer afford to keep a roof over their heads. So, what about a Constitutional ban on poverty?

Some will say that these marriages are abhorrent, and to that I add, what about the millions that are not getting health care because they cannot afford the premiums? Why isn't Pres. Bush proposing an amendment where everyone is guaranteed the right to quality health care?

Second, where would such a ban stop? Can it set a dangerous precedent for bans on say interracial marriages? Also will it set a dangerous precedent on whether or not couples can divorce? Just what land mine are they laying out by even proposing such a ban? Also, some people in our country are transgender where they are now legally classified as one sex then the one they were born as. How does this proposed ban affect them? Will they too be banned from ever getting married in the land of the free? If the legal system has now declared them a different sex, then is that law in danger of being overturned as well?

Third, if they are basing this argument on religious beliefs, then how come judges are allowed to marry people in the first place? At some point in time will the authority of judges to marry people be taken away where only religious clerics are allowed to marry people? What happens to those who are not believers in any church or do not believe in God himself? Will the rights of non-believers or non church goers who wish to get married be banned at some point as well? Where is the separation of church and state by even allowing for such a ban if it is based upon one's religious beliefs?

Also, I find it quite hypocritical for someone who believes that government should not interfere in one's life to even propose such a ban.

I always thought that the future would be the age of the Renaissance and not the dark ages where people's personal religious bigotry would dictate how the rest of society was to live. I always thought we would evolve and change into something better where each of us could live freely and not be ruled by religious tenets. After all, aren't the countries we are presently engaging in this war on terrorism ruled by religious tenets? So, how will we be different?

In closing right now, with the divorce rate as high as it is amongst heterosexual couples where clearly half end, shouldn't we be supporting anyone's right and choice to marry whomever they want?

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