George,

The Bible isn't the only religious document held sacred in America and it is unfortunate that it is used to hold dominion over so many loving couples who long to validate their love in a formal marriage. On the other hand, one of Christ's messages was that of unconditional love, which had no gender attached. To deny marriage to gays and lesbians would certainly seem to invalidate Christ's instructions to us all. In addition to those points, it is also interesting to look at what happened to the Bible in the 4th century; it was altered and edited, so as far as we know, there may have been chapters honoring all relationships bound by love. A Bible scholar might know that.

For myself, my experience with my opposite sex in marriage was not constructive and we were divorced years ago. I have lesbian friends who have been together for several decades. It is not the gender but the individuals. I hope that we get over this bizarre reasoning that says that gender determines the validity of love and commitment.

Mary Gorka, RN (Electronic mail, December 16, 2008)