Real Kato Blog: Speaking Up for Gay Marriage Rights

Over the last few days, there was a drive to influence the Senate to vote against the proposed Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. One could log onto MoveOn.org, a liberal activist web site, to send a petition letter. Here's the letter I sent.

I am not gay, and I am not a gay rights activist. But this crusade against gay marriage simply must stop.

It is nobody's intent to destroy the sanctity of the marriage institution, or to somehow cheapen the value of marriage. But allowing gay people to marry is not an attack on the institution, and it seems hateful to call it that. When interracial marriage was legalized, did that destroy the institution of marriage? Should we also deny the marriage rights to Muslims, atheists, alcoholics, and Jennifer Lopez? Perhaps if anyone should be denied the right to marry, it would be politicians who want to vandalize the beauty and love of the marriage process by using it as an election-year tool of political division.

There are other issues at stake here. Marriage carries legal rights, rights that we would be denying to a class of people if we were to pass this proposed amendment. This would be the first time in our proud history that we would specifically amend the Constitution to take away rights from our citizens. It would be a day that future generations will look back on in shame, just as today we look back on slavery in shame.

For those of you who are married, I ask you: when a gay marriage ceremony is performed, is your marriage made less significant? Does the love of your spouse diminish?

When we were children, we were taught to share our toys. We now have the chance to show that we can share something even greater: love. We have the chance to offer millions of people one of the greatest joys that life can offer. Would you pass up that chance?

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