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08/05/2004: "One Missourian who needs to show me"
In the wake of Tuesday vote in Missouri to amend the state constitution to mandate one-man, one-woman marriage, some really loony reactions are being voiced in local newspapers. For instance, Rabbi Daniel Plotkin of the B'nai El Congregation in Frontenac wrote the following to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
As a new Missourian, I am disappointed in the passage of the same-gender marriage ban. This amendment is a blatant contradiction to the ideas of freedom and separation of church and state that this nation was founded upon.
It is unfortunate that one particular religious view (that of conservatives) is enshrined in the state constitution, and that clergy like myself, who believe that these marriages do deserve the sanction of God, are denied our right to act on our religious beliefs by giving these marriages the sanction of the state.
Let me get this straight: One-man, one-woman marriage, an idea that was universally accepted by religious and non-religious people alike for virtually the entire course of American history, is now a "particular religious view" supported only by conservatives. Furthermore--and here's where he really gets bizarre--it's a violation of the separation of church and state that he can't get state sanction for his religious belief that gay marriage is legitimate.
Please excuse me while I go check to see whether the sky is still blue.
