The following article was printed in today’s Visalia Times Delta, a letter to the editor. I would love to meet this person and shake their hand. THANK YOU Rill Mitchell for putting yourself out there armed with knowledge, tact and heart!
Opponents of gay marriage oppose rights
This letter is for all those who voted Yes on Prop. 8. Please know that you voted to deny equal rights to some of our citizens â via the California Constitution. Equality under the law is one of the basic foundations of our American society. When the rights of any of our citizens are denied, the rights of all citizens are imperiled. One of the purposes of a constitution is to protect the rights of the minorities.
Millions and millions of dollars of out-of-state money was spent on the Vote Yes campaign. What right do other states have to tell Californians what our constitution should say? (And think of all the good this money could have done if it were used to help instead of to hurt people.)
The vicious TV ads supported by out of state factions said that it was all about schools. Actually, it was all about bigotry and discrimination. A lot of false information was spread by these ads â and you drank the Kool-Aid.
Some religions don’t sanction gay marriage. That is their right and privilege. The right to marry is a civil issue; a contract between two people. No religious institution would have been obliged to perform the ceremony if they didn’t want to. This is called separation of church and state. Without this protection whose religion would rule â the Baptists, the Mormons, the Catholics, the Jews, or maybe the Muslims (the fastest growing religion in the world today)? Separation of church and state gives each of you the right to practice the religion of your choices. We live in a democracy, not a theocracy.
Whatever happened to the Golden Rule? To persecute and deny rights to any minority citizens, just because you do not approve of them, is in my book â un-Christian.
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says, "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." To deny rights to a specific minority is to me â un-American.
Be a better Christian. Try to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Judge not that ye be not judged. Or as an old Indian said, "Do not judge a man until you have traveled in his moccasins." Love thy neighbor.
Be a better American. Respect the rights of others. In the future don’t allow the amount of money spent on a Proposition to influence your vote. Think for yourself. And if you can’t decide on a ballot measure, or it is written so that you can’t be sure of its consequences, either vote No, or don’t vote at all.
No doubt I shall get some flack over this letter. So, why am I doing this? It’s the right thing to do.
RILL MITCHELL
Visalia