Letter to the editor

Gay marriage ban unconstitutional

Just because the United States may be by majority a “Christian” nation, the government does not have the right to force Christian ideals or systems of belief on its people. Doing so would be in direct violation of the First Amendment.

This “establishment clause” fights not only against our government putting its money or power into supporting one religion, but also is against our government favoring one religion or religious system (or atheism). It is because of this clause that I am allowed to practice whatever religion that I find suitable, and it’s because of this clause that people that believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman have a right to believe this.

Enacting a ban against gay marriage breaks this right; it favors the ideals of certain Christian churches (or other religions) in supporting the idea that marriage is a sacred institution limited to one man and one woman.

Our nation is based that we can favor whatever belief we want, and no one belief can be held to be more correct over another, and the same goes for Christianity.

By denying same-sex couples the right to marry is favoritism -- it favors one religious principle over another. As a country we simply don’t have the right to put God in government, end of story.

Patrick Okan, student