Base laws of the land on Constitution

My sympathies to the Schaumburg letter writer who is “tired of all (the) talk about gay marriage” when same-sex couples already have the option of entering civil unions. How annoying it must be to listen to these “ungrateful” people plead for the same rights automatically bestowed on the straight majority. When the courts long ago struck down the concept of “separate but equal,” they recognized that actions are either right or wrong based on the law and not on how much and whose support they enjoy.

Many, however, still have not read the memo. Leading the charge to persuade Illinois lawmakers not to legalize same-sex marriage is the Catholic Church’s chief Chicago lobbyist, Cardinal Francis George. His mission is to preserve the status quo and the discrimination enshrined in it. Another 1,700 religious leaders, representing a variety of faiths, contend that making marriage equality a law will come at the expense of their religious freedom. Requiring that they treat same-sex couples as they do heterosexual couples runs contrary to their religious beliefs. Treating gays as second-class citizens runs contrary to the Constitution, and that trumps all else.

The Constitution, and not the Bible, is the basis for our laws, and clearly spells out the need to separate church and state. Religious groups that blur this line by acting as political lobbyists should lose their tax exempt status.

Sheryl Jedlinski

Palatine