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RICK WARREN, CENTER STAGE

There are many who don't accept idea of gay marriage

PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK Obama's choice of evangelist Rick Warren to give the invocation at the presidential inauguration makes it crystal clear that the next president does not accept the idea of gay marriage. Good for Obama. Many of us who have been advocates of legislation to bring real civil rights to all Americans, including protecting the rights of gays in civil unions, oppose the idea of gay marriage. Many of us consider the term "gay marriage" to be an oxymoron. We oppose it as an attack on the sacred institution of marriage. Gay marriage demeans the very core of what makes us human and what propagates the human race.

Whether homosexuality results from genetic or environmental factors need not make a difference in one's position on gay marriage. The real error in the arguments of those who support gay marriage on civil rights grounds is that they equate equality of rights with the equality of behavior. The behavior of heterosexuals and homosexuals is different, and the word "marriage" simply can't (and shouldn't try to) cover both kinds of behavior.
Michael J. Gorman, Whitestone, N.Y. 

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