Open your eyes to today's world

In response to George Kocan's lovely letter (God-given rights are constitutional, Dec. 9), I draw blanks as to why Mr. Kocan is so threatened by a lifestyle other than his own.

He claims “the purpose of marriage is to raise and protect children.” If we are to adhere to his definition, we should face the sobering facts that a large chunk of the heterosexual populace is failing miserably at marriage right now. His comparing of a marriage without kids to a license without a car is neither sensible nor appropriate.

Marriage is the merging of two lives into one and is undoubtedly one of the most serious decisions a person can make. Choosing to get a driver's license without a car most often is a right of passage for a 16-year-old.

Just as the government has no right to tell you what color or kind of car to buy when you get your driver's license, neither should it have the right to regulate with whom you choose to love and spend your life with.

I agree with Mr. Kocan that homosexuals have no right to redefine marriage. But heterosexual white males have no right to define marriage in the first place, based on what they may think their Bible says.

I'm sure Mr. Kocan might be shocked to know that he lives in a country that was founded not by Christian men, as he says, but by logical thinkers who had strong doubts about the legitimacy of religion and the role it should play in government. If Mr. Kocan would open his eyes to today's world, he would be able to see that we are the most accepting and open-thinking group of Americans than at any other time in our country's history.

Joe Bauer

Naperville