Law one more step to a just society

There are hundreds of churches in America, all with different systems and beliefs. I respect your right to believe what you want, to choose your church, and respect that you strive to live your life in step with the tenets of your religion. However, it crosses the line of unreasonable behavior when you decide that your church's religious beliefs apply to everybody. They do not. They apply to those who choose that church. You have no right to tell other people who they can love.

If your church is opposed to marriage equality that is your choice, and if that choice is unsatisfactory, you can choose a new church. There are many open and affirming churches who welcome all. The proposed marriage equality law will not force any church to provide marriage services that conflict with their beliefs. Marriage equality does not hurt anybody, but discrimination, bullying and hatred do.

Not long ago, multiracial marriage was forbidden, and if people of different colors fell in love they faced a lifetime of abuse, and in some places their very lives were threatened. Civil rights are the foundation of America, and the Marriage Equality Act is one more step toward an equal and just society.

Rob Sandelin
Snohomish