LETTERS: GOD WON'T CHANGE MIND

To the editor:

In this country, we believe all people have specific rights. These rights are given by God, acknowledged by the Constitution and protected by the force of law.

Today we face the prospect of defining those rights to a new level. Should we allow a group of people, defined only by the sexual activity they engage in, to be granted an equal status in our society that is protected by law?

Some will argue that homosexuals and lesbians are much more than their sexual orientation. They are Americans. They come in all races and religious backgrounds. They are professional and blue-collar workers. Some are well educated, and some are not. They could be our mothers and sons and grandparents.

I do not disagree with that statement. I do argue, however, that every person described above is already recognized and granted protection under our Constitution. It is the sexual behavior that sets them apart, and it is that behavior that is not protected under our Constitution.

I am willing to listen to anyone who can explain any characteristic, other than sexual behavior, that can to used to distinguish this group. I can think of none.

The gay-rights debate has little to do with rights. It has everything to do about using the Supreme Court to force the legal, social and cultural acceptance of homosexual behavior on an unwilling public.

The gay lobby estimates the number of people who engage in homosexual activity to be 10 percent or more of the population. That estimate is based on the Kinsey report of the 1950s which indicated 7 percent of men and 3 percent of women engaged in such behavior. My math tells me that 7 percent and 3 percent averages out to 5 percent, but who's counting?

Dozens of modern scientific surveys indicate that 1 percent to 2 percent of men and less than 1 percent of women engage in homosexual activity. Should 98 percent of the population be forced to change their laws for 2 percent? Only if the laws violate constitutionally protected rights.

The gal lobby says it wants homosexuals to be able to marry the people they love. Marriage has never been a constitutional right based on love. Heterosexuals have always had limitations to marriages.

Most, if not all, of these limitations have their roots in Christian heritage. You can't be married to more than one person at a time. You can't marry a close relative. You can't marry children. One of these limitations is same-sex unions.

They claim that Jesus Christ does not oppose homosexual activity. No objective study of the Old and New Testaments could come to that conclusion. Homosexual behavior is clearly identified as unacceptable to God in more scripture than I could quote here.

If the gay lobby is successful in getting the U.S. Supreme Court to protect homosexual behavior, do you suppose God will change his mind? If Hawaii acknowledges same-sex marriages, will God suddenly be compelled to bless such a union?

If every person on the planet raised their 5 billion voices in unison to Heaven and shouted, "God, we think homosexual behavior is OK," will God turn to his angels and say, "Gee, I guess I've been wrong all along about this man-woman thing."

The fact is there has never been a better family unit than the one devised by God: one man and one woman, joined in love to help, honor and protect each other, their children and their communities.

There will never be a better society than one filled with God-loving people who follow his guidelines for living, respecting his creation and his judgments with honor and praise for his son, Jesus Christ.

Will defining deviant sexual behavior and same-sex marriages as a constitutional right bring our society closer together, or closer to collapse?

JERRY CANADY

Chaffee