Writer was misunderstood

Re “False dichotomy on gay marriage,” Letters, June 21

It is a mark of the polarized politics of same-sex marriage that so many readers (both on the left and right) took my Op-Ed article about conflicts between religious liberty and same-sex marriage as an argument that same-sex marriage should not be recognized because such recognition would impinge on religious liberty.

I made no such argument. I simply pointed out that the California Supreme Court was too optimistic in predicting that it would have no impact on religious liberty, understood to include more than the right of a clergyperson not to perform same-sex ceremonies.

I would prefer maximizing the ability of both sides to live out their moral vision with as little government interference as possible.

Marc D. Stern

New York