Proposal against gay union rejected

By David Miller, Staff Writer

The U.S. Senate rejected President George W. Bush’s proposal for a ban on gay marriage by a vote of 49-48.

The June 7 vote was no surprise to supporters of the ban, who didn’t anticipate receiving a two-thirds vote, but did expect to get the majority of the votes.

hey were one vote short of that expectation.

Neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate are likely to pass the amendment by a two-thirds vote to send it to the states, who would then have to approve it by a three-quarters vote.

The U.S. Constitution makes no mention of marriage, be it heterosexual or homosexual; therefore, the issue shouldn’t be a concern of politicians.

Bush is being hypocritical when saying “marriage should not be redefined by activist judges” in the sense that he also has an agenda, be it personal or political, in wanting to ban gay marriage.

It is merely Bush’s opinion that gay marriage is a threat to “traditional marriage.” There is no definitive answer to this issue. It’s just a question of what one deems personally acceptable.

Claiming gay marriage undermines the family structure is a stereotype, like saying all Hispanics are criminals.

A person’s sexual preference doesn’t make that person an ineffective parent.

It’s a person’s mindset that determines what type of parent he or she is, just as someone’s individual personality makes that person prone to commit criminal acts, not the person’s ethnicity.

Clearly, there are more important issues in society today than whether gay marriage should be legal, such as Iraq and the future of Social Security.

In regard to public approval, Bush is perhaps picking battles he thinks he can win with great ease since his other choices, such as invading Iraq, have proven to be more difficult than he anticipated.

On the Christian front, if homosexuals were to truly believe the Bible to be the Word of God, then they would have to concede that homosexual unions are considered an abomination in the eyes of God.

This brings up the question as to whether homosexuals are seeking legal marriages for civil or religious reasons, or perhaps both.

It appears the homosexual community just wants equal treatment in the eyes of the law as heterosexuals receive, not necessarily acceptance from the religious right.

There is no legitimate reason not to grant homosexual couples the same legal rights as heterosexual couples. There should be a separation of personal beliefs and the law when granting legal rights to a certain group of people.

Even the president of the United States doesn’t possess the definitive answers as to what is universally right or wrong. If God exists as the Supreme Ruler, that ability should be reserved for Him.