Let me tell you about an acquaintance of mine named Ed. His name is not really Ed, but that will do as well as any other. Ed is tall, slender in build, and wears glasses to read with. He's an accomplished amateur musician - able to carry the baritone, tenor or alto parts in a vocal ensemble with equal confidence. Professionally, he is acknowledged in the community to be one of the best around at what he does; but unfortunately for his budget, Ed has chosen a profession that doesn't produce large incomes, even to its most accomplished and dedicated practitioners. I'm sure that, like most of us, Ed worries about paying the bills each month, about having enough for retirement, about the cost of health care. In short, Ed is Everyman.
Except for one thing. You see, Ed is gay, and that means that he doesn't have one right that those of us in the straight community take for granted, the right to marry the life partner of his choice. I don't know that Ed actually wants to marry his partner, but they have been together for at least five years, and seem to have genuine affection and respect for each other, so it stands to reason that they might want to formalize their relationship.
And why not? What possible business is it of me, or anyone else, if two responsible adults choose to make a formal commitment to each other, merging their economic and emotional resources, and pledging to maintain that commitment throughout the rest of their life? Sure, there's a significant probability that their connection won't survive until death do them part; but, as we all know, that is also clearly true of every heterosexual marriage solemnized today.
President Bush says that we should look on marriages between homosexuals as a "threat to the institution of marriage itself." Hogwash! My marriage and your marriage are not threatened by the possibility that Ed and his partner might choose to join us in that state. If we are really serious about the "Defense of Marriage", let us look to the factors that do pose a clear and present danger to that institution. How about a constitutional amendment guaranteeing affordable health care to every person and family in our society, or an increase in the minimum wage to a level where a family can actually survive on it? What about a War on Domestic Violence? These are family values we can all stand up and salute.
Thomas R. Borden Montgomery, Alabama July 31, 2004