Letter to the editor

L. Bergie Bergstrom
Austin High School Class of ’79

Recently I read an opinion piece written by Wallace Alcorn. I find it hard to stay silent when falsehoods and bigotry are spread like wildfire. He asserts that it is a necessity to amend our state constitution to ban gay marriage. He claims civil rights would not be taken away from gays “because they do not have this as a right. Nothing could be taken away from them because they do not have it, never have had it and should never gain it.”

Now I know I was often distracted in high school. I didn’t always pay attention to my teachers, but I clearly remember my history. The 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868, guarantees that “all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens.” It says that “no State shall deprive any person of life or liberty …” The Civil Rights Act of 1866 guarantees that “all persons shall have the same rights and enjoy the full and equal benefit of all laws …” I would invite Mr. Alcorn to brush up on his history lest he spread more falsehoods.

If Alcorn and those like him have their way, Minnesota will succumb to the Christian Right’s agenda, which is to enshrine discrimination and bigotry into our state’s constitution. They would have you believe that this ban on gay marriage has everything to do with religion and following God’s law. We are not a theocracy, people. We are a democracy. Separation of church and state was written for this, and it exists for a reason.

Alcorn claims that legalizing same-sex marriage will ultimately denigrate heterosexual marriage. This is ridiculous. Statistics show heterosexual marriages have a failure rate of 51 percent. If anything, divorce is denigrating heterosexual marriage. He also claims that laws prohibit cousins from marrying each other and that the same should hold true for gay marriage. Wrong again. There are five states in the U.S. that allow first cousins to marry, yet we deny gays and lesbians the right to marry.

Ten countries around the globe recognize and celebrate gay marriage. While the U.S. is recognized as a world leader in many things, I have to say our country is lacking when it comes to being a champion of gay and lesbian rights. Five states have legalized gay marriage thus far. We have 45 more to go.

History has shown us what happens when the civil rights of others are violated. Slaves were enslaved, women were denied the right to vote, the majority spoke and gave us segregated schools, separate drinking fountains and assigned seating on buses for “the colored.” From the first shot fired in the Civil War, black men have taken up arms alongside their white comrades only to be housed in separate barracks and made to eat in different mess halls. Fear and hatred fueled the banning of inter-racial marriage.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is on the way out. Like DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act), it was born out of fear and intolerance. Homophobia at its best.

It is time to put an end to hatred and bigotry and wrap our arms around equality once and for all. Vote “no” on this constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Fear, bigotry and intolerance have no place in Minnesota. History has proven it has no place.