Dear Mr. Obama,
I have listened to your speeches with the "audacity to hope." I've been on the edge of my seat awaiting profound words from someone who truly believes in a united America, yet each time I listen, my hope turns to sadness, disappointment, and ultimately, anger.
You claim to support full and equal rights for the LGBT community. You claim that LGBT people are entitled to the same rights as straight couples, EXCEPT when it comes to marriage. How can you not see that this is another, perverse example of separate but equal? How can you possibly say that marriage should be left to religious institutions? The last time I checked, a heterosexual couple can march themselves down to their local town hall and obtain a marriage license, without stopping off at their church first.
I know that you are doing your best to unite Americans on a variety of issues. I know that it might be difficult to win a presidential election if you unconditionally supported equal rights for LGBT people. However, when I hear you double talk on this issue, it makes me cringe, but worse than that, it makes me sad for this country. Although I disagree, I respect that your religious views do not allow you to embrace gay marriage, but what I cannot fathom is how you allow your religious views to interfere with what is just. I know you know that marriage is a legal right, not a religious one. If a couple, gay or straight, desires to have their legal marriage endorsed, blessed, consecrated, or whatever the term, let them do so. It's one thing for a religious institution to deny marriage, but the government? Mr. Obama, please examine your position on this issue, and do the right thing, the just thing.
I know you are sensitive and dedicated to human rights issues. This is why it angers me so much to witness your shortcomings on gay marriage. I've come to expect the best from you, and unfortunately, on this issue, you have disappointed me. If a man like you, of such strong ethical and intellectual integrity cannot see how insulting it is to live without unqualified equal rights, what about the rest of America? Please, Mr. Obama, win my vote and respect and lead our great country by example.
Sincerely, Mark Klecan
