Friday, Jul. 04, 2008

Letter: Differs with Lalley's view

In reply to Mr. Lalley's commentary regarding the Catholic Church's stand on "gay marriage," apparently he thinks only he has the wisdom to expound on the subject and the church should "shut up." Lawmaking inevitably involves some group imposing its beliefs on the rest of us. That is the nature of the democratic process. If we say we "ought" to do something, we are making a moral judgment. When our legislators turn that judgment into law, somebody's ought becomes a "must" for the whole of society. Thus, democracy depends on people of conviction expressing their views with confidence. This give-and-take is an American tradition and religious believers only weaken our country intellectually if we downplay our principles out of some misguided sense of good manners.

Same-sex couples are free to "eek out companionship in today's complex society" already without changing the definition of marriage. It's easy to think that legalized homosexual "marriage" will mean keeping things the way they are, only being more kind to homosexual couples. In fact, the changes will be dramatic: by law homosexual "marriage" and natural marriage will be socially equivalent. Public schools will treat the two types of "marriage" identically. So will ads, billboards, posters, commercials and displays in every public place. The Church teaches that the fair and compassionate thing to do is to be honest concerning the truth about human sexuality and marriage, not to obscure it by treating things that are not marriage as if they were.

Rhonda Borelli

Los Baños

Rhonda Borelli Los Baños