Jeffersonian

You can email me at:
jeffersonian@charter.net
I will send you the link to my website to your email. I would like to
keep my full name off of PFB.

Dear Mr. Allen, (and recipients)

I received your response in regards to the US Marriage Amendment not
blocking states from acknowledging Civil Unions or Partnerships. Mr.
Allen, your supporters may feel this is true, but it's not. I would
like to share with you my personal reasons I don't support any
Amendment regarding Marriage. One reason this is so personal to me is
because this will be on the ballot in November. It has implications
that hit very close to home for me. Why should the majority vote on
the freedom/rights of a minority; how is that justice when the outcome
is nothing short of hopeless?

Here is my history; my partner and I have been together nearly 5 years
now. We live in the same way an engaged couple would. We have a joint
checking account, we purchased our home together, we purchased our
cars together, and our wills reflect our wishes and commitments to
each other as life partners. You might think, that is all well and
good, so why are my feathers in a ruffle? It is because this new
amendment states that marriage can only be between one man and one
woman, and that any arrangement approximating marriage is null and
void...

So, as you can imagine, if I were to pass away, any one of my greedy
family members to walk in under this law and take everything away from
my partner (or vice versa). Since I have checked into this with
multiple lawyers and a judge, I know it to be a fact. Then if I were
hospitalized for any reason and could not express my wishes to the
staff, my partner would not be allowed in to see me. The one person
that I would want with me, would be kept from being at my side in case
of an emergency because he is not "related to me" or married to me.
These are just a few of the reasons my blood boils over this subject.
We live a very quiet life, we volunteer time to our community and do
our part as good citizens. I even hold an office in our community's
government and work for a major worldwide company, and so does my
partner. Regardless, our commitment to each other is very personal. We
don't run out and kiss in public or any other offensive act. We are
very private and show the public at large, the utmost respect. It
bothers me because these laws and amendments make our commitment to
each other null and void in many cases especially under the law. Our
contracts and wills are of a legal nature and no amendment or law
should block something so personal and private. It is simply no one's
business, or it shouldn't be... I hope this helps you better
understand my personal feelings now.

My parents are long gone, both passed away years ago. My brother is a
devout Southern Baptist and struggles with my lifestyle; my sister is
a drug addict in your fine state and would take any opportunity to get
anything she could of value in light of my death... It simply isn't
right... I just want to live my life in peace. Surely you can
understand that? I hope. I am not saying my life style is right or
natural. I am not even asking for you to agree with it or approve of
it. I just want people to respect my life as an American and as a
fellow human being. My partner and I hurt no one, we don't bother
anyone. We deserve a little better treatment by our government and by
others. We only ask for the same respect and tolerance that we show
everyone else. Nothing more, nothing less. I think if you spoke one on
one to other gay people that are in committed relationships they would
tell you the same thing. I will be the first to admit we are just as
human as heterosexuals; we have people that live in the bars and clubs
that represent our community poorly, like every other community. The
hard part is looking beyond those that stand out and seeing the honest
hard working people in each community, if gay or straight, good people
that just want to live the American dream and be happy. So many people
make this a religious issue, which I understand and actually respect.
To them, I ask, please allow me the same freedom you have, and allow
God to be the judge. I'm not harming you in any way. Besides the first
amendment is supposed to give us all the right to worship or not, as
we see fit.

Please Mr. Allen, stop the lies; you can't really be that naive. You
know as well as I do that this amendment will strip any connection I
have with my partner, short of roommate status. This is nothing short
of discrimination and evil. I know you want to run for President, but
first your have to act like one. You can't go around calling people
names, and taking people's rights away by refusing to allow the law to
protect them through contracts, beneficiaries, and other legal
arrangements. It's not American or Virginian, its bigotry at it's
finest. I am sorry for being so angry. Put yourself in my shoes.
How would you feel?

People say Love is Blind... I say Religion is...

Following any religion so blindly and placing it before the very
freedoms that allow that religion to exist is DANGEROUS. If you doubt
it's happening, look at history around the world. Look at Iraq, look
at the crusades. Now look at the evangelical uprising here in the US.
It is of things to come... We must stop judging each other and
remember what America is all about... FREEDOM & LIBERTY.

VA BALLOT QUESTION NUMBER 1 November 2006

Shall Article I, the Bill of Rights, of the Constitution of Virginia
be amended to state "That only a union between one man and one woman
may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its
political subdivisions"

"This Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall not create or
recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals
that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or
effects of marriage. Nor shall this Commonwealth or its political
subdivisions create or recognize another union, partnership, or other
legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations,
qualities, or effects of marriage."?


Dear Family, Friends, Associates and Neighbors:

I send this message to you as a plea. Above is the full text of the
amendment that you, as a registered voter, will be voting on this
November. This is a plea because this amendment will deeply affect my
life in a profound way. Please note the section that is bolded and
underlined in red above. It states that no agreement or even
contract, such as a will or beneficiary will be valid between any two
individuals, other than those that are legally married. This impacts
contacts with people that have jointly purchased homes, listed others
as beneficiaries, will agreements, joint bank accounts and many other
legal agreements that you might take for granted.

This entire subject is very personal and private to me. I would never
discuss something of this nature with anyone other than my partner,
for those that know me, you already know even writing this email is
extremely uncomfortable for me. While I might agree and respect the
sanctity of marriage, I do not agree with the wording of this
amendment. It restricts me from legally securing my personal and
financial affairs in my life. This is extremely humiliating to me.
I have confirmed with three different law firms and even spoke with a
retired judge to confirm the implication of this amendment to all
unmarried individuals. This amendment simply goes too far.

I sincerely ask you to vote against this amendment in November.
Virginia already has at least 2 different laws in place that protect
marriage. This amendment not only goes too far, but it is simply
unnecessary.

As your relative, friend, associate and neighbor. I respectfully ask
you to vote against this amendment in November. Please vote "NO" and
encourage your friends and family members to also vote "NO". I rarely
ask anyone for anything, this time my plea is very important.

Honorable Elected Official:

I am writing you today because of this cultural war that seems to have
broken out regarding the marriage amendment. I have taken the time to
speak with both extreme sides on the matter and the results are always
the same and surprisingly consistent.

The deeply religious people always want, "to protect the sanctity of
marriage and define it as a union between one man and one woman";
which is fine from a religious point of view. However if you look at
and speak with homosexual people they say, "They want the same rights
and protections as a married couple."

Both of these arguments are valid in the Liberties outlined in the
Constitution, specifically the preamble. Where the opposition comes
in is when the argument becomes one-sided. When you have the deeply
religious pushing for an amendment and the homosexuals pushing for
equal marriage rights you cause this cultural war. This is
understandable if you take a moment to understand both sides of this
situation.

The answer is simple. While passing this legislature to define
marriage, also attach or push through legislature to protect the
rights of homosexuals. If you don't want to call it a Religious
Marriage and a Civil Marriage, you could just call one Marriage, and
the other a Civil Union. The catch is, when it comes to legality the
word marriage is already on all legal documents between two people, if
you change the wording to Civil Union, all the documents have to
change to accommodate the new status.

This is a topic that many people take sides on. I think if we all
tried to understand each other and tried harder to meet in the middle
agreements could be made to protect both. However, this could not be
done separately. These laws need to pass together as one amendment,
and need to be reviewed by both parties to ensure the wording isn't so
loose that you could drive a bus through the loop holes. This is the
same issue facing Virginia's amendment.

I ask everyone that reads this letter to put down the stones, take a
deep breath, understand the deeply religious aren't going away, and
the homosexuals are only growing in numbers. It is time to find a
peaceful solution that makes everyone happy. Please remember that
"respect does not require approval." We live in the United States of
America; we must all start being American's first and everything else
second. We need to treat everyone with respect and dignity despite if
we agree or disagree with what they are asking for; as long as it does
no harm to anyone else then there is no reason not to accommodate
their liberties and equal rights under the law.

In memory of Coretta Scott King, please remember "justice is
indivisible", not long ago she spoke on this issue and was very plain
spoken about it; please work toward a solution that represents
everyone, not just the majority in this case. Remember, what the
homosexual people want doesn't hurt anyone; if it did, then pass all
the laws you want to, but what they want is respect and liberty like
every other American.

Dear Elected Official:

I found an amazing statement recently I wanted to share with you.

To be a person of faith is to have the world challenge that faith.
Was the universe designed by God? Should marriage only be between one
man and one woman? That's up to everyone in this country to decide
for themselves, because the Framers of our Constitution believed that
if the people were to be sovereign and belong to different religions
at the same time, then our official religion would have to be no
religion at all. It was a bold experiment then--as it is now. It
wasn't meant to make us comfortable. It was meant to make us FREE.

This statement expresses the very fabric of what it is to be an
American. It is our most essential imperative that protects all of us
in the first amendment. I fear our country has lost sight of this.
So many seem bent on protecting the sanctity of marriage.

This entire controversy contrasts our freedoms in this country. I
simply ask that each and every person remember the freedoms our
framers worked so hard to protect and cherish. In the times of modern
conveniences and fast food we have forgotten these most basic
imperatives and are writing things into our constitutions that would
make the Framers of our Constitutions faint.

We all need to be very careful and much less reckless in regards to
our Constitutions and most sacred documents.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

It seems that all the different states are attempting to sanctify
marriage by using the state constitutions. This goes against the first
amendment. It amazes me that our leadership is getting away with this
(probably because they are mostly Christian...) raising an entirely
new issue, but still the same dangerous lack of regard and respect for
these documents. It's time to draw the line again...

I would simply like to ask you to think before you act so quickly.

"To be a person of faith is to have the world challenge that faith.
Was the universe designed by God? Should marriage only be between one
man and one woman? That's up to everyone in this country to decide
for themselves, because the Framers of our Constitution believed that
if the people were to be sovereign and belong to different religions
at the same time, then our official religion would have to be no
religion at all. It was a bold experiment then--as it is now. It
wasn't meant to make us comfortable. It was meant to make us FREE.'