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Dear Governor Ehrlich,
As a resident and registered voter in the state of Maryland, I take exception to your comment on WTOP Radio last week that gay marriage is "not going to happen in Maryland. End of discussion."
Will you please explain to this Marylander why you would stand in the way of her equality under the law? I assure you, sir, that I am already married. Your pontificating can't change the fact that tens of thousands of gay Marylanders are. I am merely waiting for (and working toward) the day when my government finally realizes that is has no compelling reason to deny me the rights and responsibilities of that marriage merely because neither my mate nor I has male genitalia.
Rights are not subject to plebiscite, sir, and they are subject neither to your personal beliefs nor to how you would attempt, from your position as governor, to foist those beliefs upon those you govern. Rights are inherent; have you not read our founding documents? It is high time that you and other opponents of gay marriage see that no harm will come to the traditional American family when the rights of civil marriage are finally granted to same-sex couples. None of us is fighting for our right to civil marriage in an attempt to weaken the institution. We want to strengthen it, for you and your children, sir, as well as for ourselves and ours. Denying the rights of one of our society's most stabilizing factors to anyone in the name of "family values" is lunacy; our right to marry will merely guarantee more stability.
With all due respect, sir, it is illogical, even ludicrous, to think that discouraging couples from marrying and settling down will harm the institution of marriage. Gay Americans have long been grossly marginalized by the erroneous belief that we are promiscuous at best, outright sexual criminals at worst. But imagine for a moment the effect marriage can have on a promiscuous person. The taking of vows is a powerful thing, Governor Ehrlich; it changed my life. Moreover the responsibilities attendant to marriage have a sobering effect. Our culture is full of references to those who've "sown their wild oats" and are thence ready to "settle down." Why do you imagine that gay couples thus settling down is a bad thing for our society, and that it is a benefit only when straight couples do so?
I suggest that you gather some new advisors on the subject of gay Marylanders and their marriages. Call me at (xxx) xxx-xxxx, for starters. If you like, I will ask my neighbors to call you. You can ask them what it's like to have a same-sex couple in the neighborhood, and if our presence is at all disruptive or has devalued their families. If not me and my neighbors, sir, do speak with some gay Marylanders.
I urge you, Governor Ehrlich, do not attempt to block whatever actions the Maryland legislation takes toward guaranteeing its gay citizens this form of equality under the law: the right to civil marriage. If you continue in the path you laid out on WTOP Radio last week, you will undoubtedly lose many votes, mine among them, when you run for reelection.
Sincerely, etc.
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