.Marriage is not just any relationship between human beings. It is a relationship rooted in human nature and thus governed by natural law.

Natural law?s most elementary precept is that ?good is to be done and pursued, and evil is to be avoided.? By his natural reason, man can perceive what is morally good or bad for him. Thus, he can know the end or purpose of each of his acts and how it is morally wrong to transform the means that help him accomplish an act into the act?s purpose.

Any situation which institutionalizes the circumvention of the purpose of the sexual act violates natural law and the objective norm of morality.

Being rooted in human nature, natural law is universal and immutable. It applies to the entire human race, equally. It commands and forbids consistently, everywhere and always.

Stephanie T., thank you for writing your beautiful letter. I am a civic activist in Mountain View who speaks in opposition to the queer viewpoint. What unites us is more important than what divides us. If you CARE, then you and I are on the same side. If you and I both want to see a world of real liberty, real justice, and real economic empowerment for every human being on the planet, and you and I are both willing to lift a finger to make it happen, then we are on the same side.

I would be pleased to discuss this with you or Ms. Jensen here. The most troubling aspect of this issue is that no meaningful civic conversation is taking place. People with opposing views, such as you and me, are not listening to each other, not considering each other's ideas, not respecting each other, and are not willing to learn from each other.

I will now state my opinion briefly. If you want to converse with me, you can either post a clarifying question or any other response. Otherwise, please remember that everyone who cares and who is willing to work for progress is on the same side, especially if we have the same core values (liberty and justice) and only disagree about how best to achieve them.

Opinion: I support the entire "queer agenda" as I understand it, with the sole exception that I oppose the redefinition of the word "marriage". This is because redefining that word would silence important ideas, and I oppose silencing. The queer community should attempt to prevail in debate by presenting a winning argument, not by silencing the opposing view. Redefining "marriage" would silence that view. This whole fight is really an attempt by the queer community to silence the marriage norm, which they, not surprisingly, find to be inconvenient.

Thank you both very much for your respectful comments. It means a lot that you took the time to respond in such a thoughtful manner. Stephanie and I read the comments together and discussed them. We talked about equality and how we both believe that all people should be treated the same, including the rights that they are given. I look forward to conversing with you both on future Penther Pen postings.

Ms. Jenson, I assume that you are Stephanie T.'s teacher. Thank you for doing your job. As a libertarian, I also envision a future in which all people are treated the same with respect to government and to the economic part of life, such as employment and business.

The real issue isn't civil rights; it's speech. As long as people have the freedom to speak and to hear what anyone would speak, there will be division regarding sexuality, gender roles, and sexual mores. There will be people who promote "the marriage norm", and there will be people who live contrary to that norm. To the extent that those who promote "the marriage norm" win over the opinion of the general public, those who live contrary to that norm will feel under attack, tolerated, perhaps, but never fully accepted.

IOW, as long as there is the freedom to speak, there will be norms of behavior, and people who live contrary to those norms will suffer whatever penalty society imposes upon those who do not conform.

Life is hard. Everyone suffers. Let us respond with compassion while remaining committed to Truth.

Thank you all for your respectful comments! Ms. Jenson, you are an amazing, compassionate teacher who is teaching her students truth and being free to speak ones mind in a respectful manner!! Thank you, too, Stephanie!! You wrote so openly and obviously love your sister and have been raised well!!! Go Panthers!!!!!