Freedom for all? Or as our Constitution puts it, “...all men are created equal”? So why do some of us have certain rights that others do not? California is one of the few states that allows legal same-sex marriages, but, according to California courts, this may not be for long. Same-sex couples are rushing to receive marriage licenses before a new law or, even more shockingly, a Constitutional Amendment can be created that prohibits them from doing so.

Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this picture? Love is being rushed because of the possible passage of an unjust law and this is making law-abiding citizens of this country fearful.



Holland allows legal same-sex marriages as do Taiwan and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario. Americans are forever patting themselves on the back for being ‘ahead’ of other countries in advancements of all sorts. However, in the race for liberation for same-sex couples, it looks like we’re lagging behind.

One’s sexual preference should have nothing to do with the law or the government, but President Bush thinks otherwise. In a February 24 news briefing Bush proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would specify a marriage as one between a male and female.



Bush stated, “Marriage cannot be severed from its cultural, religious, and natural roots without weakening the good influence of society. Government, by recognizing and protecting marriage, serves the interests of all.”



He continued, “Today I call upon the Congress to promptly pass, and to send to the states for ratification, an amendment to our Constitution definitely and protecting marriage as a union of man and woman as husband and wife.”

To create laws against same-sex marriage on the basis of religious beliefs would be a blatant violation of our law for separation of church and state, yet Bush brings up the religious aspect of marriage in his speech.

Our country has gone through drastic changes and made amazing progress in the matter of civil rights whether it concerned women’s rights or the rights of African Americans. After the Civil War, African-Americans were allowed to marry, and after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1967, mixed race marriages were made legal. Can you believe it? Less than 37 years ago laws such as this existed!

Making a law or, even more drastically, an amendment against same-sex marriages is like taking two steps backward in our liberating journey.



So far, very few states have supported a law for same-sex marriages. Some of those states supporting it include Massachusetts, whose law will not go into affect until May 2004, parts of California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Nebraska, and Nevada. Another option for same-sex couples is to join in a civil-union, an arrangement that Vermont drew up. A civil union is a comprehensive legal status similar to civil marriage.



Who gives anyone the right to limit another person’s rights? Same-sex couples have done nothing to wrong our country or the people living in it. My only question is, Mr. Bush, can you give us all a logical reason?



Top Four Jurisdictions Allowing

Gay- Marriages

Toronto/Ontario, Canada ......14,700

San Francisco, CA ..................4,6088

The Netherlands ......................5,665

British Columbia, Canada ......1,400