You cannot discriminate against your citizens!

Fri, May 25. 2012

Editor: (Re letter: Homosexuality shouldn’t be legalized under guise of rights, freedoms, by Kennard King, published May 18, 2012).{{more}}

Leave it alone, Kennard. Rather than rake the bible to support your ire, you should find better arguments; better still, examine the source of your bible. Because if you rely on the biblical authorization to persecute gays, you will have to accept other biblical dogma, like the right of parents to slay their disobedient children.

Yes, equality for GLBT (Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transsexual) persons is a rights issue. Even the state of Israel understands that, and has acted on it. The laws you refer to originated with the Jews.

It’s perfectly alright for any religion to oppose same-sex rights, or demand that women wear long dresses, or swim fully clothed (I belonged to one that required all that). People choose to belong to religions. They may leave them if they disagree with their doctrines. However, the nation belongs to all its citizens — the religious and non-religious — and the state’s first responsibility is not to discriminate against its citizens, or for that matter set up a sector of the citizenry to be persecuted by the others.

Your religious arguments are fine, as long as they are restricted to religion. The nation, however, is not a religion.

Nigel Thomas