Gay people hold marriage in high regard

To the editor:

Regarding the proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Missouri: The attitudes of the two area state representatives are unfortunate as well as mistaken. As with most of our opponents, they seem to feel that gay people want to destroy everything they hold dear, including marriage. This could not be further from the truth. Gay people hold the institution of marriage in very high regard -- so much, in fact, that we want to participate in it. We want to hold it up for what it is, a sacred bond, instead of devaluing it like so many of our straight counterparts have done.

State Rep. Rod Jetton seems to feel that a few TV shows constitute the desire to take over the network. We merely want people to see us as we really are and not as a stereotype. Our relationships are as meaningful to us as those of our straight counterparts, but we want to share the same rights that our parents, brothers, sisters and friends have had for years.

When one of our parents becomes ill or dies, the surviving spouse has inheritance rights, hospitalization rights and other rights that are automatically included with marriage. We have none.

When we face the same life challenges as our parents, we are forced to endure hardships that are both cruel and unnecessary. Marriage would validate our relationships in a way that nothing else could.

KERRIE LINTNER

Rainbow Alliance

Cape Girardeau