Index of SPPS Budget Discussion http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/spps-posts.html _________________________________________ Thomas:
I do not favor a civil union between same sex couples to be called Marriage. I DO however very much favor civil unions between same sex people and others that are not gay to be considered as a good measure of how well a society cares about the needs of ALL of its people. Let me give and example. I know of several folks in varied situations that live together where the relationship is not sexual or romantic that plan to live together for a very long time. Sisters who are widowed. A daughter and her father where he is retired and a widower. A brother and a sister who are young and single and are out of college and trying to pay off heavy debt due to college loans. I believe if one is insured and another isn't in these cases, they should be able to offer benefits to one another, because they have a longer commitment to one another than most sanctioned marriages I have seen do. Although I choose to be married in keeping with the traditional definition, I do not feel that Marriage needs to be defended. Marriage by virtue of the fact it has been around since the beginning of time, stands the test of time, and I believe there is legislation that is much more important than this. This is just my opinion, but I have friends dying from toxic dumps in their back yards, and this just doesn't seem as important. I defend marriage by the fact that I AM married and I don't feel my lifestyle needs to be defended. It is already sanctioned by God. I believe that you cannot get any higher authority than that. If you believe in God, you believe in the ability for people to choose whether they will live their lives for him. He does not MAKE us come to HIM. He loves us and wants relationship with us, but he does not take our free will away. Civil unions in my opinion just make sense for so many other reasons than to just cover the gay issue. It just makes more public policy sense to have more people in our country covered by health insurance and other benefits than not. As far as taking the Legislatures time on this, I think it is a little out there, when education is on the line, a stadium is looming, the environment is not being cared for and many seniors are poverty stricken without health insurance and drug benefits. I think those that have risen to the level of the legislature are aware of the definition of marriage and would be quite insulted for you to suggest they are not. Although I respect your opinion on this, I think that resolutions of this nature are best left to be dealt with in your church congregation and other religious forums. We certainly do not need to change the constitution or Statute code, when Marriage needs no defense. It is what it is, and just restating Websters definition for the sake of a few who want to change flies in the face of reason in my opinion. I do not want to take up this mantle, the others I am carrying are heavy enough. I will let God take this one on. Pamela Ellison Como Park Saint Paul ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Swift" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "St. Paul Issues Forum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 1:23 PM Subject: [StPaul] AN: Rally at Capital > Index of SPPS Budget Discussion > http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/spps-posts.html > _________________________________________ > > > The mayors of a few municipalities have decided to > re-define the circumstances under which they will > defend and protect the constitutions and laws of thier > states. > > If you are concerned about a possible amendment to the > US Constitution it is imperitive that citizens of the > several states rally to defend the soverignty of their > constitutions and laws. > > In Minnesota, marriage is defined as a union between > one man ond one woman; join thousands of your > neighbors at the capital Monday, March 22, 11:30-1:00 > to make sure our legislators get that message loud and > clear. > > For more information go to: > http://www.mnvoter.com/ > > Thomas Swift > Cherokee park > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Search - Find what you're looking for faster > http://search.yahoo.com > _____________________________________________ > SPPS Budget Reduction Forum - Feb. 23-27 > Co-Sponsored By NEAT: http://www.stpaulneat.org/ > _____________________________________________ > NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul > > Archive Address: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ > _____________________________________________ SPPS Budget Reduction Forum - Feb. 23-27 Co-Sponsored By NEAT: http://www.stpaulneat.org/ _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
