I would like to offer a more affirming definition of marriage compared to Scott Bute’s letter of June 25. I believe in free speech, and communication is a step in sharing insights that can build bridges to all regardless of their varying statuses. Many fair-minded community members stay silent on this issue out of fear or indifference to airing their thoughts on social topics publicly. Mr. Bute tends to write on social issues with a narrow literal biblical interpretation without much regard to historical and content perspectives of biblical times. This tends to divide people and make them seem un-Christian, if they don’t have the same understandings. 

Gay rights may be the civil rights struggle of our times. If you truly believe in equality for all, how can you rule out some type of marriage ceremony? I believe the main reason that straights or gays want to get married is to demonstrate and celebrate their love for one another, not necessarily to produce children.

 I wonder if Mr. Bute would consider the idea that each of the California Supreme Court justices based their decision solely on their interpretation of the Constitution and out of respect for fairness. He probably comes from a conservative view due to his reference to McCain and his past editorial letters. Too often that political party has used short sound bites like “activist judges,” “special rights,” and “the gay agenda” to dismiss constructive dialogue and to put it in a negative light.

Here are some facts that I am familiar with that may give more updated trends about this civil rights struggle: recent polls show California voters are approving of some type of marriage for homosexual couples, around 20 states have passed non-discriminatory laws compared to 10 in the year of 2000, and slightly over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies offer some type of domestic partner benefits doubling what it was in 2000. Things are changing, and the business world is leading the way! Many business companies realize some of their most creative and productive workers are gay, and they are very willing to provide perks for those talents. Many gays are use to “thinking outside of the box” to be survivors in today’s world. I predict legislative bodies will follow suit when they feel it is safe, and unfortunately the church will be the last to change.

 I recently attended the public forum titled “For the Bible Tells Me So,” which shared how families came to embrace their gay children. During the question-and-answer session, it was asked how we could be change agents for our gay loved ones. A family from Mankato that was featured in the video answered by saying, “Tell your story.”  They believe when we put a human face on the topic, love and change will eventually win out. I invite Mr. Bute and others to attempt to have a healthy rapport with a gay person. I believe you will find that you have more in common than differences.  

Gary Williams

Albert Lea