LETTER: The truth about the marriage rally
According to a recent letter to the editor, the College Republicans were being disrespectful to gays and lesbians at their Traditional Marriage Rally on Feb. 18.
The entire week before the rally, the Pride! Alliance displayed their belief in front of the student body and nobody yelled at them nor challenged what they believed in. Yet, when the other side stood up for what they believed, they were torn apart. Everyone is preaching tolerance of gays and lesbians but why not tolerance to those of us who feel that traditional marriage should be saved?
The College Republicans were not promoting hate nor being disrespectful. They stood there for three hours taking personal blows from those for legalization of gay marriage. Yet during Pride Week, nobody protested against the gays and lesbians when they decided to show “Mormon Erotica.” They were allowed to express themselves freely.
The College Republicans were not the ones who brought hate to the rally. The concept of the rally is really quite simple: Sign a petition saying you are in support of traditional marriage. If the College Republicans had been the ones who brought the hate, the issue would have surfaced a week earlier during Pride Week. Yelling “homophobe,” taunting the crowd and persecuting people for believing in traditional marriage promotes hate quicker than a signature on a petition.
In all the letters published recently, the writers present themselves as non-biased, but are ever-ready to strike down the Republicans for standing up for what they believe in. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney summed it up well when he said, “Marriage is a fundamental and universal social institution. It encompasses many obligations and benefits affecting husband and wife, father and mother, son and daughter. It is the foundation of a harmonious family life. It is the basic building block of society: The development, productivity and happiness of new generations are bound inextricably to the family unit. As a result, marriage bears a real relation to the well-being, health and enduring strength of society.”
A majority of Americans – sometimes by as much as a 2-to-1 margin – oppose legalizing gay marriages. Thirty-seven states and the federal government have already signed a Defense of Marriage Act. We can no longer let activist courts redefine the institution of marriage for us. It is very important that we stand up for what we believe in, whether it is signing a petition like at last week’s rally, or re-electing the president who won’t let the traditional family be trampled upon.
Spencer Lloyd is a junior majoring in business information systems. Callie Taggart contributed to this article. Comments can be sent to shlloyd@cc.usu.edu.