Congratulations and best wishes to Brian Beckley and his new fiancee. Thank you for having the kindness in your heart to recognize your joy and to wish that for others.

I don’t think that makes Brian Beckley a liberal commentator. I am surprised at how frequently letter writers refer to someone else as a liberal or a conservative in a name-calling fashion. I am pro-life so people who oppose that tell me disdainfully that I am a conservative, as if that diminishes my views. I am passionate about civil rights, especially involving gay marriage, so my opponents call me a liberal in a way that is intended to be offensive. I would prefer that we manage to be civil toward one another and stop the name calling.

I marched for civil rights in Detroit in the ‘60s and I march for gay rights in Seattle. How is it not civil rights when it is a right granted to some people and not to others? Some churches are using the Bible as a weapon against same-sex marriage. Generally these are the same churches that used the Bible to condone slavery.

I think the misunderstanding regarding gay marriage comes from people who insist that it can only be a religious ceremony. Marriage is a civil ceremony and some people choose to have it performed in a church. One writer to the editor stated, “Marriage is a commitment or a vow taken between you and your spouse before God…”  Many atheists marry in our country and they do not believe their civil ceremony was performed before God. Churches did not perform ceremonies routinely until the 12th century. Greek warlords sent their daughters to be married to the sons of warlords to create alliances. There was no religion involved. Kudos to the churches who do honor the dignity of all by officiating at same sex marriages, but that isn’t what the proposed law is about. It is about civil rights.

Again best wishes to Brian Beckley and all other couples, gay or straight, who choose to honor their commitment by making it legal.

Marcie Neuman

Buckely