Amendment is waste of time

To the editor:

I hope Missouri voters will soundly defeat the Republican-sponsored proposal to ban gay marriage by constitutional amendment. It is mean-spirited, a waste of time and downright silly.

The issue isn't marriage at all. Marriage is the union of man and woman. It needs no constitutional foundation. It is the normal human condition. Some states are using the word "marriage" for unions of gay people. Homosexuality is not the normal human condition, but a significant number in the population are gay, and they sometimes form unions every bit as strong as some heterosexual unions. I don't know what the proper word for those unions is, but it isn't marriage.

What is a constitutional amendment going to do? Do Republicans think homosexuals will no longer form unions? They will call themselves married, though not in the eyes of the state.

There were far more important things for our legislature to consider than this. If there was anything you wish the legislature had managed to do but didn't get accomplished, you can blame it at least in part on this. Legislators frittered away precious time on a divisive ploy they thought would get out a vote to give them even more power next year.

Vote it down. Toss it back in their faces. President Bush is pushing for the same type of thing nationally. Our vote in Missouri can send a message that we'd rather he spent his time on something important.

BOB TODD

Piedmont, Mo.