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To all of my fellow Minnesota voters
Nov. 5th, 2012 03:50 pmMy friends, tomorrow, no matter which man you choose for President, I hope you stand with me to VOTE NO on the marriage amendment. Nowadays when so many marriages crumble, commitments of any kind should be celebrated. If we are to "protect marriage", we should be protecting it from people who enter into it frivolously, from those who cheat, and those who abuse their spouses. We should be celebrating loving couples everywhere who want to commit their lives to each other, no matter gay or straight.
You may not "agree with the lifestyle", although being gay is not a choice any more than being straight is a choice; you may say that the Bible says it's wrong. But we do not live in a theocracy and one religion's values should not be imposed on the entire country. We wouldn't want our own version of Sharia Law now, would we? I believe one's religion should guide how that person lives his own life and how he relates to others, but it should not be used to legislate lives of other people.
We also should not be using the constitution to deny rights to citizens. The constitution is a document that protects rights and this amendment has no place in it. The law already prohibits same-sex marriage and if this amendment fails, that will still be the law. A majority should not be voting on rights of a minority.
As a Jew, I can tell you that I have experience living in a country where one group is considered "less than" the other. When you don't have the same rights as other people do simply because of what you are. When you are afraid to admit to someone your true nature because you might be considered inferior. I have lived it, although not to the extent of many of my fellow former citizens. And it is precisely because of this that I fight so hard for equal rights for everyone. We moved to this country to escape intolerance, to be able to be who we are without fear. This is why my vote is for tolerance and acceptance, for marriage equality, for rights of my friends, neighbors and most importantly, my children. Please join me in VOTING NO and protect other people's freedoms the way that you would want your freedoms protected.
First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.
