Letter to editor

What is at stake with regard to the issue of same-sex marriage before the United States Supreme Court? There is more at stake than is realized by some. In an Associated Press article by Mark Sherman, there is a summary of the constituent points concerning the issue before the Court. Those who support gay-marriage argue that states do not have “any valid reason” to prohibit marriage to same-sex couple because it is their “pursuit of happiness.” Moreover, the denial makes them (homosexuals) “second-class citizens of same-sex couples and their families.”

There are two replies to this. First, with regard to there being no valid reason to prohibit same-sex marriage, there is very much a valid reason. It is called morality! If there is an objective/transcendent standard of right and wrong (and I have and will continue to argue for such), then behavior contrary to that standard is immoral. On the other hand, in a society such as ours that currently exists, we live on the basis of no morality at all, or a morality that is relative to the subject. In effect, what is right and what is wrong is undetermined until the community codifies a standard that is strictly arbitrary to wants, wishes, and dislikes. This promotes moral chaos.

With such a philosophy in place, if one determines his own right or a wrong, the arbitrary approach to morality produces no morality at all. It is nothing more than a squeaky wheel getting grease!

Thus, this brings me to the second point of reply. The moniker “second-class” citizen is as substantive as submarine with a “screen-door” hatch! It is a sinking ship. This is nothing more than a made-up reply to gather sympathy from people.

Submitted to Decatur Herald-Review (4.27.2015)