I agree with the author of Thursday's opinion "Marriage is not a right to which all people are entitled" on only one count: that the people of California should be given a chance to vote on what's known as Proposition 8. Last May, the California Supreme Court voted 4-3 to strike down the California Family Code statute defining marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman, thus legalizing same-sex marriage in the state of California.
On Nov. 4, California residents have the chance to vote on Prop. 8, which proposes to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry.Voting "no" on Prop. 8 is not just a vote protecting the rights of same-sex couples, it's a vote protecting each and every family.
Marriage, in America, is for "love matches;" it's not for the sole purpose of procreation.
By arguing that marriage's purpose is to bring more children into the world and to raise them with their two biological parents is just illogical. Marriage is first and foremost a union of two people who choose to honor and love each other for the rest of their lives -- not a contract between two people, plus whatever kids they may or may not have, to stay together forever for the sake of the kids.
Marriage doesn't always work out between two people, for various reasons. I personally was raised by only my biological mother since my father passed away when I was very young. I, and I'm sure many others, can attest to the power of a single mother in single-handedly raising her children -- not to mention the power and success of single fathers, divorced parents who share joint custody, and same-sex couples who raise children of their own.
It is not the genders of a couple, but the content of their characters that determines how they will raise a child.
Vote for the basic human right of marriage; vote "No" on Prop. 8.
Iliya Smithka
freshman, geology