Originally posted by DESIGN: You are correct about basing our laws around our current society but as Americans we also base our laws on a document that is over 200 years old. It is a balance of new problems and our founding principals. In that light we deserve as Americans to vote on such an important issue. It should not be dictated by any group. The final and highest authority that our government can give is to amend the constitution. If it is truly a vocal minority in our country that wants to protect traditional marriage then a vote would show that. However, if the opposite is true then that will be brought to light as well.
I appreciate the comments in your first 2 sentences - there is much to admire about the history and the heritage.
But just so that I understand ... is it your position that the constitution does not confer equal rights to gays and lesbians, or is it that there is no such thing as a right to marry (civil definition)?
The Oregon statutes apparently already define marriage as being between one man and one woman - why would they (no gay marriage proponents) want to change the constitution unless they felt there was some existing risk of those statutes being overturned on the basis of a constitutional challenge?
