Regina Tobin of Southwest Portland writes...

Following the passage of Measure 36 and the Oregon Supreme Court's decision last week revoking my marriage, I have been reassuring my friends and family that I am OK and that, sadly, I expected these outcomes.

But I am not OK. And I do expect equal and fair treatment. I expect my daughter to have access to the same legal protections and rights that are afforded to married heterosexual families in Oregon.

It is time for House Speaker Karen Minnis, R-Wood Village, Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown, D-Portland, and Gov. Ted Kulongoski, along with all of our legislators, to make passage of Senate Bill 1000 a priority ("Bill frames civil unions debate," April 14). This bill would allow civil unions for gay couples and prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation.

This is not a partisan issue. It is an issue that is a "legitimate question of fairness," to paraphrase a spokesman for Minnis ("Court annuls gay marriages," April 15).

Some families have less value - Brad Townsend-Bruns

I was touched to learn that some opponents of same-sex marriage said they teach their children not to tease children of same-sex couples in school ("Court decision affirms couple's religious convictions," April 15).

Now how do same-sex couples explain to their children that in Oregon, some families have less value than others? How do you explain that some families won't have health benefits and other protections because the majority has said that some Oregonians do not have the right to be married?

It's too bad that many Christians in the Defense of Marriage Coalition have forgotten the Golden Rule.

'Hard-wired in the brain' - Brenda Peterson

Much was made clear to me about the fight against same-sex marriage and unions in Tim Nashif's Sunday Commentary article, "An illegal act has been remedied; let's consider 'reciprocal benefits' ."

The article stated that Senate Bill 1000 "would grant protected-class status to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people... SB 1000 enshrines in law that these characteristics are equal to a person's skin color, national origin or genetically determined gender."

No one chooses their national origin, skin color or gender any more than they choose to be gay, lesbian or bisexual.

Until all human beings come to understand and accept that sexual orientation is hard-wired in the brain during gestation and is not a choice made by the individual or determined by her environment, discrimination against sexual orientation will continue and legislation designed to eliminate that discrimination will be attacked.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 at 8:12 PM. Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.