Homophobia is alive and well in Duluth ("Same-sex marriage jeopardizes family structure," May 26). If marriage is for procreation only, no one who is past child-bearing age should be able to marry. If marriage is for procreation only, no one who can't provide proof of fertility should be able to marry. If marriage is for procreation only, no one on birth control or using condoms should be able to marry.
If marriage is such a family value, why do more than half of all marriages end in divorce? And if marriage is such a family value, why is the number of failures of second marriages even higher?
To quote the Declaration of Independence to bolster the argument against gay marriage or even domestic partnerships, as the letter writer did, was quite a stretch. The first paragraph of the Declaration has no reference to marriage. There's no reference to homosexuality. The letter writer took a great deal of interpretive liberty to make any connection.
The writer's statement that every consensual man and woman can marry is just not accurate. Brothers and sisters cannot marry. First cousins cannot marry. Even in our recent past, different skin colors precluded marriage.
To state that the concern is not religious but political was absurd. The recent California ballot issue (defeating same-sex marriage) was essentially financed by the Mormon church and endorsed by religious leaders throughout the state.
ADVERTISEMENT
Finally, the argument that the end of our civilization because of same-sex marriage is imminent was laughable. The fact that every gay relationship now doesn't produce offspring will not change with or without same-sex marriage.
It's a matter of fairness. It's a matter of humanity. It's a matter that should concern us all. Resistance to same-sex marriage is short-sighted at best and homophobic at worst. We as a caring nation can and should do better.
MICHAEL MARCONETT
HIBBING
