The proposed marriage amendment is simply another item on the agenda of the religious right. Aggressive fundamentalist groups have a wide-ranging plan for America that includes as many restrictions on individual rights as possible. The religious right wants to take religious doctrines that do not recognize same-sex marriages and enshrine them in our nation's laws for all to follow.
Fundamentalist groups insist that same-sex marriages violate biblical mandates. But, contrary to what many demagogues want you to believe, American law is not based on the Bible, or indeed any religious text. If these groups succeed, LGBT Americans will be relegated to permanent second-class citizenship. Our laws should reflect equality and fairness, not the doctrines of particular religious beliefs.
In a friend-of-the-court brief, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has compared the argument used by fundamentalists to the same flawed arguments used in efforts to outlaw interracial marriage a generation ago. Today there is no serious claim that marriage rights should be denied on the basis of race.
If you believe in the American commitment to personal freedom, you will vote against Amendment One.
— Phillip Allen
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, WNC Chapter
Hendersonville
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