In response to Sean McCauley’s Aug. 29 column, “Leave decision of gay marriage to states”:
I take great umbrage with the idea that LGBT people are "forcing" the normalization of their lives upon people who disagree. Not only do the citizens of the U.S. have every right to disagree — just as they do on every legal issue out there — but marriage equality is an issue of equality, not of forcing beliefs on others. Marriage in the U.S. can be a religious ceremony, but we also have civil marriage, which does not have anything to do with religion. Bringing religion into it breaks the separation of church and state that is in our First Amendment, and multiple polls show a majority support for equality, not a rejection. Not only that, but civil unions do not afford the exact same rights and protections as civil marriages do.
The article claims that LGBT people are forcing their view on others, that we are already equal. The fact is that while citizens don't have to agree with laws, LGBT people are indeed unequal; A man can marry a woman, so why can't a woman do that exact same thing?
Brandon Ortega
Undergraduate
