Dear Boston Globe Editors,
Jeff Jacoby, in his column on June 7th, takes issue with Senator Kennedy for calling proponents of the FMA “bigots.” Sometimes, however, some opinions are indeed proof of bigotry. Some laws, like the FMA. are indeed discriminatory.
That religious leaders have signed on to the FMA, or that a majority of folks in certain states support the FMA, doesn’t magically make the proposal a good and fair one. The majority isn’t always right. In fact, by definition, discrimination occurs when the majority acts with prejudice against a minority, denying them rights offered to others. That’s why we have courts, to guarantee equality for all, even against the wishes of the majority.
A few nights ago, Jon Stewart said “This is a debate about whether you think gay people are part of the human condition or just a random fetish.” That’s exactly it. If gay people are part of the human condition, which history and biology teach us is clearly the case, then how can we possibly deny them the rights that we give heterosexuals? What do we expect homosexuals to do? Force themselves to marry someone of the opposite sex and create thousands of “Brokeback Mountain Marriages?” Live alone their entire lives, going from relationship to relationship, without the chance to have the state recognize that they, too, want to settle down? Is this how we strengthen families?
If you live in the real world, you know that gays are part of the human condition and have been since the beginning of time. And, as such, they should have the same rights as those of us lucky enough to be in the majority. Whether or not the majority agrees. Because we live in a free country. Not “in a free country, as long as you’re in the majority.”
Benlog 