OUR VIEW: Time has come to allow gay marriage in New York

Editorials

May 11, 2009

Anonymous The Tonawanda News Mon May 11, 2009, 01:16 AM EDT

While one must always consider the source, we support Gov. David Paterson’s effort to jump-start the gay marriage debate in New York.

It’s a hot-button political issue, but as more and more states surrounding New York embrace the social changes that come when homosexual couples are allowed to marry, we are falling behind the curve.

Gay marriage is a serious debate, and one that New Yorkers have avoided for too long.

The time has come for New Yorkers to set aside their preconceptions about gay people and offer the same legal protections to them as we do to straight people.

Too quickly this debate is moved from the arena of public policy into one fought on religious grounds. Paterson and state lawmakers are not religious leaders, and those who support the measure do not seek to weaken those religious institutions that stand in opposition.

This is a legal question — a debate over public policy, and whether our laws treat all New Yorkers fairly. They don’t.

If justice is truly blind, then surely gay people deserve the same legal protections as straight people. Rights like hospital visitation, joint tax filings and child adoption are granted to some in our state, but not all. That is the very definition of injustice.

If your religious beliefs are offended, we would question why. Your church will never be legally obligated to perform, or even recognize, homosexual marriages if it doesn’t want to.

Four states now allow gay marriage and none have been besieged by plagues or fallen into the sea. Indeed, it’s been the opposite. States that have allowed gay marriage see a drop in divorce rates. More children have loving homes.

In an age where “family values” — such as they’re broadly defined — are at a premium, it makes no sense to deny willing, productive members of society the right to join the rest of us.

There exists not a single legal reason why this state’s legislature could deny these rights. Any effort to do so is brought about by religious and social conservatives who simply don’t like homosexuality in any context. If lawmakers allow these interests to dominate the debate and eventually squash the governor’s efforts, they are ignoring reason and siding with church over their stately obligations.

The Constitution plainly calls for the equal protection of all Americans under the law. By definition, we will not live up to the meaning of this creed until gay and straight people are treated the same.

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