Doane students speak out on same-sex marriage amendment

Ryan Moore
Staff Writer
Mar. 4, 2004, Page 3

Although Massachusetts is a long way away from Nebraska, this ruling is affecting people on Doane's Campus.
"You don't choose to fall in love with someone, you just do," PRIDE president J.T. Hills said. "So why does it matter what sex the two people in love are?"
The ruling, however, has come with nationwide scrutiny as well.
"Marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman," President George W. Bush said.
Bush is proposing an amendment to the constitution defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. That amendment would have to be ratified by both houses of Legislature in two successive legislative sessions and then be ratified by voters. Thirty-eight states have enacted laws barring the recognition of same-sex marriages, including Nebraska.
Hills feels many people oppose gay marriage because they think it will be detrimental to society.
"They often feel the same way about gay adoption," Hills said. "I sit here at Doane as proof that a lesbian can raise a child with strong morals, a child who is intelligent and articulate, and a child who will see a life of opportunity ahead of him."
After a Supreme Court ruling in November, same-sex marriage is going to be legal in the state of Massachusetts.
The controversy began in 2001 when seven gay couples went to their city and town halls to obtain marriage licensees. All were denied, causing them to sue the state.
Four justices came to their decision issuing the statement, "For no rational reason the marriage laws of the commonwealth discriminate against a defined class." Part of the push by the gay community for the "civil marriage" title, instead of the Vermont style "civil union," is that with marriage couples obtain additional federal benefits such as Social Security benefits.
The ruling is another milestone in a year that has brought about many advancements in gay rights in America. This decision follows Canada's allowance of same-sex marriage as well as a US Supreme Court decision to strike down a Texas ban on gay sex.