First-class violation of rights
Palm Beach Post, 11/14/2008
Thou shalt not inject religion into law.
The American republic is governed by the U.S. Constitution. Not the Bible, the Torah, the Quran or any other religious text. Separation of church and state is a cornerstone of the liberties that constitution guarantees.
Yet millions of voters in Florida, California and Arizona took their religious beliefs to the polling place last Tuesday - where they approved banning gay marriage - and demanded adherence to those beliefs from everyone else.
Among the 60 percent of Floridians who approved Amendment 2, the so-called 'Marriage Protection Amendment,' was a man who I happen to know cheats on his wife. He bragged with righteous indignation about voting for the amendment. But why shouldn't gay men and women have the right to make the same vows he chooses to break? Religious freedom gives the faithful the right to live their beliefs. They should let others do the same.
