We’re all citizens now

Recently our state legalized marriages between homosexual partners. Many Christian groups have indicated their disapproval with our state passing legislation that grants marriage rights to homosexuals. Many Christians who came to the United States seeking protection for their religious beliefs are now protesting applying the federal Constitution protections to other U.S. citizens.

“We the people.” Brave words, aren’t they? They come from the preamble to our federal Constitution. But yet, at our nation’s inception, those words applied to white males. Women, blacks and Indians were largely excluded from that Constitution.

It would take a major Civil War and the passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the federal Constitution to eliminate slavery, and to state that all citizens were to be treated fairly, equitably and uniformly. Unfortunately, these laws would not be put into practice until the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and would take over three generations before the vast majority of our people would accept equality for all of its citizens.

Homosexuals are citizens, many of whom fought bravely in our nation’s wars to protect and defend our freedoms. There is no reason to deny them full citizenship rights that all other citizens enjoy.

Mark Johnson

Nine Mile Falls