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Letter
to the editor: Gay marriages do not threaten the institution Citizens who see the institution of marriage as threatened by allowing same-sex couples the same right are pushing for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Why anyone would object to two people of the same sex getting married because they love each other and wish to have that recognized and protected under the law is beyond me. Gay couples are not attempting to take marriage from straights, they simply wish to join them. For same-sex couples to have the same rights as everyone else is not asking for special rights or for compromise, it's demanding equality as Americans and as human beings. Some, probably most, object to the idea of same-sex marriage based on their religious beliefs. However, no one is being forced to marry someone of the same sex, and gays are not asking to be married in anyone's place of worship. Same-sex couples simply are asking that the government recognize their marriages, and to be entitled to all the benefits straight couples currently enjoy under the law. There are more than 1,000 of them, and include basic hospital visitation, inheritance and insurance rights. I, along with every other gay person, know what it's like to be discriminated against, to the extreme definition of the word, just because we happen to be gay. Personally, being gay is, hands down, the main reason why many people don't like me, wish to associate with me, or inflict physical and emotional harm against me. This type of discrimination has been a staple in my life from elementary school to my first year at the University of North Dakota. Across the nation, there are laws barring gays from marrying the person they love, from being allowed housing, to even being hired for a job, even if they are fully qualified. These are just a mere few benefits which are denied to homosexuals for just that reason: because they are homosexual. Banning same-sex marriage would only add to the government-endorsed discrimination that already exists. It will also increase the out migration concerns North Dakota is currently faced with, as many young gay men and women in the state will opt for more tolerant, gay friendly areas of the nation. Losing even more educated and potentially productive citizens of this state is a serious problem. I would like to ask heterosexuals, for just a moment, to think about how different your lives might be if you were gay. Think about if your children, grandchildren, family, friends and other loved ones happened to be gay and the extreme discrimination and social disapproval they would face. It's not a pretty picture. As a matter of fact, it's quite an ugly one, isn't it? Please, citizens and government officials of North Dakota, refrain from your efforts to ban same-sex marriage. We need more loving families, not fewer. Novelist William Dean Howells once said, "Inequality is as dear to the American heart as liberty itself." Isn't this the truth? It doesn't have to be. Witt, Minot, N.D. is a student at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks
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