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Written by Jan Linn
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Monday, 23 May 2011 20:47 |
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(The letter below by Jan and Joy was published in This Week Newspaper (Lakeville) on May 27, 2011)
Senator Dave Thompson asked in a statement published in this paper what was better than allowing the public to vote on a constitutional amendment that would prohibit gay marriage. Well, we can tell him what’s better - “justice.” And that is what this vote he so proudly supports threatens. He and those like him claim that they don’t want some activist judge to decide who can and cannot be married. But that is precisely who should decide. Apparently they have forgotten that assuring equal protection under the law is the role of the judiciary.
What is more, those who say marriage is not a right contradict a 1978 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court which declared that "decisions of this Court confirm that the right to marry is of fundamental importance for all individuals." The Court did not say marriage was of fundamental importance to straight people only. It ruled that it was a right that was of fundamental importance for ALL individuals.
This ruling reflected the fact that in America majority vote for any reason, religious or otherwise, does not decide citizen privileges and rights. We believe the people of Minnesota know this better than many of our political and religious leaders do. We, therefore, also believe that when they vote on this amendment they will say so by resoundingly defeating it. We count it a privilege to serve a church where most, if not all, of its members will be among them.
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