In his letter published July 4, Vern Hunt of Lucerne attacked and insulted gay and lesbian Californians, as well as our United States and California State Constitutions, by suggesting the recent state Supreme Court decision upholding the right of all California couples to enjoy the benefits of legal marriage is somehow “diabolical.”
Since my husband and I exercised that right ourselves in Lake County last month, I feel Hunt”s letter is a personal attack, but rather than respond in a similar, disrespectful way, I”d like to point out the ways Hunt has advocated the violation of our state and national Constitutions.
The California State Supreme Court had previously established that a fundamental right to marriage cannot be denied by the Legislature when it declared unconstitutional in 1948 the law forbidding interracial marriage. This spring, the Court further established that a popular vote may not be used to deny gay and lesbian Californians equality. The vote scheduled this November is fatally flawed in that our state Constitution says an amendment that fundamentally alters it must be approved by two-thirds of both houses of our Legislature.
Since both houses have twice passed bills in favor of marriage equality, it”s clear their approval for this amendment will not be forthcoming. Polls show a majority of Californians are sickened by the idea of a law meant to deny others equality under the law.
The federal government is currently violating three clauses of the United States Constitution by refusing to recognize valid marriages between same-sex couples. First, “Congress shall make no law establishing religion” is being violated, since most of the arguments against marriage equality offered are based on personal religious interpretation, not the proper rule of law.
Second, “Congress shall establish no religious test for public office.” Once again, this proves religion is not acceptable as a excuse to deny uniform application of the law.
Most importantly, the 14th Amendment calls for “Equal Protection Under The Law.” There is no possible interpretation of the Equal Protection clause that can defend the federal government”s reserving the benefits of legal marriage as a “special right” for mixed-sex couples only.
It is my belief that the sorry state of our nation is precisely because of people who want others to be forced into their religion. George Bush promised them he”d let them promote their religion in public schools. He promised them constitutional amendments to stop legal, safe abortion, and to deny equality for gay and lesbian Americans.
He didn”t keep those promises, did he? Instead, we have over 4,000 Americans and countless Iraqis dead ? and gasoline approaching $5 per gallon. We have an economy in a tailspin, except, of course, for the oil industry, and Bush has lost credibility the world over. It”s time we all realize religion is no excuse for attacking minorities. All our current troubles could have been avoided if we spent more time reading the Constitution and some didn”t try to promote their faith with the force of law.
Michael Gemmell
Lakeport
