Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor (March 12, 2004)

What would Jesus say about gay marriage?

Editor:

I am not deeply rooted in questions of theology. My basic understanding of what Jesus of Nazareth was trying to say was "love one another". He did not make exceptions based on race, creed, color, sex or national origin.

If the primary institutional expression of love is marriage, then the joining of two human beings in matrimony would seem to be in accordance with what Jesus taught and believed. So the test of who is a true Christian is if they unconditionally accept and support people in love.

If those who call themselves Christians want a religious test for marriage, will it exclude those who are marrying for publicity, fortune, prestige, power or sexual gratification?

Call me a fundamentalist, but I believe that we need to get back to basics if we are to mix theology with constitutional law.

John Cormode
Franklin Avenue

Social justice the key in marriage laws

Editor: I write in opposition to Eka Moore's old-fashioned view of marriage. Why should a loving, same-sex couple be denied the right to wed?

Even though Mormons are annoying, I reluctantly conclude that it is only fair to legalize group marriage just to be consistent. As long as we have loving, consenting adults, why raise a fuss?

Marriage is not about children; don't use that to argue against same-sex marriages. So we should allow incestuous marriages. As long as they don't have kids, what's the problem?

In fact, marriage is not really about sex. There are non-marital relationships with great sex and many icy traditional marriages. Marriage is a status that gets special benefits. Some people are not able to find a partner yet love their pets. Allow people to marry their pets so that vet bills are paid by their employer. How is it fair that married people get to extend health coverage to loved ones, yet single people are denied this benefit? Also, I should be able to add my parents to my marriage so that they can get coverage. Or a hungry child overseas. How could that be wrong?

Some object to law-breaking and don't like the gay marriages being performed. But consider Judge Roy Moore and the Ten Commandments statue he tried to keep in his courtroom. Weren't gays nearly unanimous in supporting Moore's right to interpret the law as he pleased? Don't change laws that are wrong, just ignore them. Judge Moore should not be the only one to get special treatment.

Marriage is a complicated, ancient institution for which a body of customs and law has grown up over many centuries. Some say that gays only care about getting acceptance and don't care about the havoc which will be inflicted on the institution of marriage. So what? I hope we can all agree that social justice is more important.

Jim Uren
Oaktree Drive

'Passion' worth more than 2 stars

Editor:

One of your film critics, gave "The Passion of The Christ" two stars for "some redeeming qualities." What an understatement!

Lois Poppema
Chiquita Avenue

Seniors need forms for parcel tax exemptions

Editor:

Senior homelessness in America? God forbid. It could happen.

As time goes by, it seems that seniors are having it socked to them in every possible way. The cost of the necessities needed for living are continuously increasing, to levels at or below what Social Security benefits provide.

As a result, seniors are finding it more and more difficult to make ends meet and maintain a roof over their head. And now, with the passage of the Measure J parcel tax, I am concerned that some seniors may not be aware that they can file for an exemption, which is not automatically applied to the individual property tax statements sent out by the county assessor's office.

I'd like to suggest and hope, that the City of Mountain View, in consideration for seniors who don't drive, make the senior parcel tax exemption forms available at our local Senior Center.

Frances Trimmer
S. Rengstorff Avenue

Primary election statistics

Editor:

The evening news recently mentioned that voter turn-out for the primary election was 40 percent of all register voters in the Bay Area, the lowest in a few years. Here's a piece of information that is missing from their story: How many registered voters received their voter information and knew where to vote during this primary?

Sample ballots provide non-advertised details on where to vote and information on the propositions and candidates' campaigns. During the presidential and recall elections I voted because I received the sample ballots and knew where to vote.

During each primary, I never received sample ballots in the mail so I didn't know where to vote. In this March election I voted because my husband received this voter information; I knew where to cast my ballot. But why did he receive voter information this time and I didn't? I believe it's because he's registered in a political party and I am not.

Being nonpartisan is my choice; I don't believe in wasting trees on stupid political advertisements. Just because my beliefs aren't consistent to one particular party doesn't mean that I don't care about my community.

So why don't I receive sample ballots during the primaries? Why does it appear that a different database is used from the general elections to distribute the sample ballots for the primaries? Why do I see inconsistency in the voting system? Is the government secretly "saving" taxpayers money by only mailing primary voting materials to a selected group of voters? What's wrong with this picture?

My point is that every registered voter deserves to receive voting material at each election so we all know what the issues are and where to cast our votes. There are too many important issues in the community, like Measure J, that we cannot pass up. My observation is not just local; I've experience this in Illinois too. So how many other voters in this community experience this inconsistency during elections?

Jennifer Tirva
Lotus Lane

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