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Saturday, October 13, 2012 • Whidbey News-Times
IN OUR OPINION Separate but equal isn’t equal: Yes on R-74
I
t’s odd that the majority of people in Washington state will be voting on whether to extend an important right to a minority group, namely gay people who want to get married. After all, a founding concept of our nation is majority rule tempered by constitutional protection of the rights of minorities; James Madison wrote of the importance of “(guarding) one part of the society against the injustice of the other part.” Nonetheless, opponents of gay marriage were able to gather enough signatures to challenge the marriage equality bill and force a majority vote on the issue. If Referendum 74 passes, it would make Washington the seventh state to enact marriage equality. Public attitudes about homosexuality have progressed an amazing amount in the last couple of decades. Remember how Ellen DeGeneres made history and caused an uproar by coming out on her TV show? Nowadays, a gay TV character barely raises an eyebrow. A recent poll shows that the marriage equality measure will likely pass by a healthy margin in the state. That’s good news. Legalizing gay marriage is simply a matter of equality and fairness. Committed homosexual couples should have the same legal protections and benefits as heterosexual couples. Gay couples shouldn’t have to use a separate lexicon to describe their love for one another. “Domestic partnerships” is not accurate and it’s not enough. Many of the objections to legalizing gay marriage center around religious belief. They argue that allowing same-sex couples to marry would redefine the definition of marriage as a civil contract between two people. The problem with that argument is that marriage is, in fact, a civil contract. Two people sign a contract, register it with the government and then receive certain rights and protections from the government as a result. There are many committed, non-religious heterosexual couples who wouldn’t get married if it wasn’t for those benefits. Gay people should have the same option. The proposal does not force churches or members of the clergy to perform gay marriages. Churches, clergy or religious organizations do not have to accept or even acknowledge these marriages, just as some churches have refused to accept “multicultural” marriages in the past. There are churches that have embraced same-sex marriages and other churches that will not. Referendum 74 won’t change that, and voters should vote Yes to guarantee this civil right for all.
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Published each Wednesday and Saturday from the office of The Whidbey News-Times 107 S. Main St, Ste E101 • P.O. Box 1200 • Coupeville, WA 98239 (360) 675-6611 • (360) 679-2695 fax On the Internet at www.whidbeynewstimes.com
Letters to the editor Update wanted on water permit
On Sept. 10, 2012, the Island County Board of Commissioners wrote a letter to Capt. Johnston of NASWI requesting that the Navy scale back their water right Permit, GI-28658 (in which the DOE granted the pumping of 39 million gallons annually) to the actual historical use of irrigation water for the Gallery Golf Course of about 10 million gallons annually. As a member of Protect Our Whidbey Wells, POWW, I feel the commissioners acted in a reasonable and responsible manner in their letter to Captain Johnston, which protects their Island County constituents’ water rights, along with the need of the Navy to pump water for irrigation of the Gallery Golf Course.
The Island County Board of Commissioners letter of Sept. 10, 2012 suggests a win-win solution for irrigating the Gallery Golf Course and to protect the wells of its surrounding property owners. We wonder if the commissioners have received correspondence from Captain Johnston or anyone else in the Navy as to their request. As a member of POWW, I am seeking an update on this matter. Catherine Ball Oak Harbor
No political parties, unions, loopholes This could only happen in America. Two men, both multimillionaires, are touring the country, one on taxpayer dollars, begging for money from any working stiffs fool-
Publisher...........................................................................................................Kasia Pierzga Supervising Editor............................................................................................... Jim Larsen Assistant Editor . ........................................................................................ Jessie Stensland Reporters................................... Justin Burnett, Rebecca Olson, Nathan Whalen, Jim Waller Administrative Assistant.................................................................................. Connie Ross Advertising Manager................................................................................... Lee Ann Mozes Advertising..................................................................................Gail Rognan, Angela Wood Production Manager.......................................................................Michelle Wolfensparger Marketing Artists.....................................................................Ginny Tomasko, Leslie Vance Circulation Manager.......................................................................................Lynette Reeff Circulation Assistant...................................................................................Diane Smothers
ish enough to give it. Why, to help them get a job which, with perks, pays 50 to 100 times what the average American worker earns. And who or what gets most of the donated money, the media, which despises one of them and turns a blind eye to all the lying, double talk and stupid policies of the other. What a country! Here’s my solution to a better America. I would first outlaw all political parties, forcing people to use their heads for more than a hat rack when voting. Second, I would outlaw all unions, which have done more damage to this country than all the terrorists combined, and then could no longer control our politicians. Third, I would rewrite the constitution, eliminating all possible loopholes for tax evasion and radical behavior and policies bent on destroy-
ing America and all the basic principle on which this country was founded. Remember, the constitution was originally written for simpler people in a much simpler time. Arms and weapons were used for protection and hunting for food, not for mass murders and lunatics. Free speech meant exactly that, free speech, not disgusting art, movies, and pornography used to destroy religion and houses of worship. I would cut off all foreign aid to any nation harboring a large Muslim population and I would not spend a cent or shed a drop of American blood on or for any nation that treats the U.S. like garbage. This is not a complete solution, but it sure would put us on the right track to recovery and respect. Richard Ays Oak Harbor
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