Bill, excellent letter. However, I disagree with a couple of statements. The first is:
"I was reminded of the Book of Esther and how risking her own life, had to “come out” to her King that she was a Jew in order to save her people from mass murder."
With all due respect, today's gay people do not "risk their own life to save his people from mass murder" nor anything even close to that level of gravity, by coming out of the closet and stating his desire to be married to his gay partner.
It is interesting, however, that you mention Esther coming out to "her king". As a matter of fact, many of us concerned about the balance of powers between judiciary, legislative and executive branches see the Supreme Court acting this week....as a king or monarchy that has its final say by over-ruling the voice of the people at the referendum ballot box.
Also, with all due respect, this is a straw man argument:
"yet some within this group would have you believe that the union of same sex couples in some way [U]threatens the establishment of marriage between a man and a woman. The divorce rate among heterosexual couples is evidence that men and women everywhere have done their level best to destroy the sanctity of marriage."
Never in 20 years of watching gay/lesbian couples campaigning for marriage rights have I seen an opponent of gay marriage claim that individuals' marriages were threatened or endangered by this proposed change to marriage law. It is the societal and civil institution of marriage--relating to family and healthy child-rearing as affected by the laws--that is threatened!!
Nobody will ever convince me and others that a child born to two men or to two women, conceived by artificial insemination, prefers that over never having BOTH a biological, live-in mother and father in his/her life.
If there is one common trait about kids in K-12 school, it is clearly that they want to be like everybody else-- who has both a mom and a dad whom they've at least MET and know something about.
To not know from whom you came goes right to the core of why adoptive children often spend their whole lives searching for that biologicial mother "who did not want me" and "WHY did she not keep me?". AND, "why did my biological father not CLAIM me nor seek to raise me...like I'm so worthless!?!"
Children deserve to have both a male and a female parent for role modeling, teaching, and the sense of security each is uniquely equipped to give their own child.
Thank you for respecting a difference of opinions, which others have called "hatred", "bigotry" and all kinds of other bigoted and hateful stereotypes.
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