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Star-Gazette
Love only requirement
for strong marriage
From the
stargazette.com on the Web, August 8, 2007
Elmira, NY -- All marriages,
including "traditional," common law or in the case of Massachusetts' same-sex
unions, share one common bond, love. The New York Assembly has approved a
bill, with Gov. Spitzer's support, legalizing same-sex marriages. However,
the Senate doesn't agree with the majority of the other lawmakers.
Over the history of our country, various segments of our society have been
discriminated against. Women's rights and civil rights came long after the
Constitution stated that "all men were created equal." We believe that it
is now time to outlaw the bias that restricts the right of loving same-sex
couples to marry.
Every organized religion has different standards, requirements and ceremonies
for their members to follow to be "officially" united. All 50 states have
different standards, including how old one must be to be married. If
someone from New York chooses to be married in Massachusetts, our state will not
recognize this as a "legal" union.
We see marriage as having three components: religious, legal and obviously
mutual love between two people. Churches and governments seek to set
"conditions" for what will be a successful marriage. The only factor
that will ensure a lasting marriage is unconditional love between two
individuals, be it heterosexual or a same-sex in nature. We celebrated
our 40th anniversary last month. We can honestly say that nothing that the
state or the church where we were married had anything to do with the success of
our marriage.
GARY and CATHY WESTFALL, Elmira
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