As your constituent, I urge you to oppose the "Federal Marriage Amendment" (H.J. Res. 56/S.J. Res. 26). This measure would amend the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as strictly between a man and a woman as well as invalidate all the protections that many families currently enjoy.
The sanctity of marriage is not threatened by gay marriage. Indeed, people wishing to commit to a life of monogamy and love symbolizes the very essence of the sacred notion of marriage. The real problem with marriage in America is heterosexual divorce, and I cannot imagine a
scenario where you or any other of our elected officials would move to restrict our right to end a marriage. Thus, you should not constrain anyone from a new beginning in their lives.
I am a heterosexual male with two children and I can tell you that gays marrying each other will in no way affect my relationship with my wife. I
love her, she loves me, and we love our children. Simply put, gay marriage will not have any noticable effect on what we have built.
However, a broader effect will be felt if this Amendement is carried through to its intended end. We, as a nation, will again give official
sanction to blatant discrimination against a discernable segment of our population. These are AMERICANS. They deserve the same rights as everyone else. They certainly are as committed and in love with their putative spouses as any straight couple. It only follows, from the text of the Fourteenth Amendment if not from the proper American spirit, that the government which derives its power from the people (even gay ones) should protect ALL its people without legal distinction.
Nor should our elected officials be allowed to rely on a religious basis for defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. Ours is a
system of secular laws, and should be respected as such by those to whom we entrust to lead us. The power of an elected official is not
untrammeled. If our leaders forget this basic premise, the ballot box will remind them as surely as the sun's next rising.
Do not support the Federal Marriage Amendment. It will set our nation back. It will, for the first time since African-Americans were counted as less than a person, memorialize discrimination into our most cherished statement of our laws.
Sincerely,
Patton L. Zarate