Marriage law withholds civil liberty

The Defense of Marriage Act requires all citizens to adhere to a definition of marriage that is not only religious in nature but is of primarily one faith in origin in order to have access to the civil liberty of marriage.

No other civil liberty has such a religious prerequisite. Not the right to vote, the right to free speech, the right to collectively assemble, the right to bear arms, etc. In fact no other civil liberty in the constitution or any since amended thereto requires adherence by the federal government to a singular religious tenet or definition to the exclusion of all others in order to have access to that specific civil liberty.

Via the Defense of Marriage Act, all citizens regardless of their sexual orientation, but also regardless of their religious faith, are required by federal law to adhere to a singular viewpoint and definition of marriage that is primarily Christian in origin. This is the true problem with this law. It steps into and overrides our common constitutional right to religious freedom.

Governmentally required adherence by all citizens to a singular tenet or view of a specific faith, or of even a group of faiths (i.e.: the definition of marriage as being solely between one man and one woman) to the exclusion of the views or tenets of all other faiths in order to have access to any civil liberty is a denial to all citizens of their right to religious freedom. It places undue weight by the government upon the views of one faith over all others. It also places undue weight by the federal government upon one civil liberty over all others, and sets a precedent wherein the government can in the future deny access to civil liberties even to straight citizens based upon any single religious viewpoint to the exclusion of all others.

John F. Page

Libertyville