Same-Sex Marriages

* Re “Saying ‘I Do’ to Broadening the Debate,” Commentary, Feb. 5:

Any marriage, whether between a white man and woman, an interracial couple, two men, or two women, should be based on one thing: love. If two people are ready and willing to make a lifetime commitment to each other, and share in all of the joys and pains that life has to offer, we should be celebrating. All those who proclaim the need for “family values” should be thrilled by any committed union.

To deny same-gender couples the right to marry simply because it does not fit with our traditional concept of a married couple is plain old-fashioned discrimination. If our concept of marriage had not evolved, women would still be vowing to “love and obey” their husbands, and “mixed marriages” would still be outlawed.

We’ve come a long way in the fight for equal human rights for everyone in this country. To deny same-gender couples the right to marry is akin to relegating gays and lesbians to be second-class citizens who must sit in the back of the bus, because they are not worthy of the same rights as their straight friends.

MARTIN BEDOGNE

Los Angeles

* Thank you for Peter Nardi’s sane, intelligent column on same-sex marriage. Marriage is not only a cultural phenomenon, it is also a very important set of rights and laws to protect individuals in a relationship. Basic civil rights denied to same-sex couples range from the right to make medical decisions for a partner, to the right to receive a partner’s Social Security and Medicare benefits, to even the right to decide what to do with a partner’s corpse.

Can any Californian--or any American--really think it ethical to deny such basic legal rights to couples of any minority group?

CHARLES GREEN

Carlsbad