Families Can Be Together Forever

On Sunday, in LDS churches around the country, the following letter was read:

Dear Brethren:

We are informed that the United States Senate will on June 6, 2006, vote on an amendment to the Federal constitution designed to protect the traditional institution of marriage.

We, as the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, have repeatedly set forth our position that the marriage of a man and a woman is the only acceptable marriage relationship.

In 1995 we issued a Proclamation to the World on this matter, and have repeatedly reaffirmed that position.

In that proclamation we said: "We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and stregthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."

We urge our members to express themselves on this urgent matter to their elected representatives in the Senate.

I wonder if God really told these men that gay marriage is wrong. The God I believe in loves all his children and doesn't care who they marry or what sex they are attracted to as long as they are happy and safe.

I wonder how many closeted young men and women living in strict Mormon households will be pushed further into the closet with this statement. I wonder how many will be pushed even further into thoughts of despair and even suicide.

I wonder if the many religions that support this discriminatory amendment truly believe that gay marriage is the downfall of society. I'm sorry, but if Britney Spears and Kevin Federline are allowed to not only get married but also procreate (twice even!) then it should be more than ok to allow two men or two women to marry each other.

One of the reasons I left the church was this so-called "Proclamation on the Family." It is a very hurtful proclamation that says if your family is not a certain type of family then your family is wrong. I'm certain that children are worse off if parents are divorced or stay in abusive relationships than children who have two dads or two moms.

I believe that if the church really did believe in helping protect the family, they would ensure that families are kept together instead of torn apart by such proclamations.

I also believe that the Constitution is a sacred document and should not be changed for matters like this. Marriage is a personal contract between two people and government should stay out.

I didn't want this post to turn into an "Action Alert" but the more I write, the more upset I get. Please take 5 minutes to sign this postcard to your Senators to ask them to vote no to the Federal Marriage Amendment. Do it now as they are scheduled to vote on it June 6.

I couldn't wish for better father figures for my daughter then my boys. They are not the downfall of society and it breaks my heart when they say my boys don't deserve to marry the ones they love.