are unnatural

Re: "Gay marriage: Yes or no?", Sunday:

David Boies contends that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution. A close reading of the Constitution will reveal that nowhere does it address marriage, much less homosexuality.

The argument by advocates of homosexual marriages - that their goal of equality of rights is analogous to those of African Americans and women - is specious. Those long-denied civil rights were rights that are natural to all persons.

Religious beliefs aside, the proposition that homosexual couplings are normal human behavior is demonstrably fallacious. History shows us that almost all human sexual relationships have been between a man and a woman. No reasonable person can deny the natural, physiologically complementary differences between the sexes. Same-sex unions, incapable of natural copulation and the possibility of generation are, by that fact, abnormal. Further, if marriage for homosexuals is acknowledged as a civil right, then by what twist of reasoning should not polygamy, polyandry, or pederasty also be condoned?

Undoubtedly, most same-sex couples are good people who contribute much to society and who rear their children to love and respect others, but the fact remains that their lifestyles are not in accord with nature, and no amount of rationalization can change that.

William J. Swety

Schwenksville

Call it what

it is: Marriage

Because supporters of gay marriage insist on the term marriage, Glenn T. Stanton concludes that "the real issue for same-sex marriage advocates is actually definition, not access." In the real world, however, definition is access in this case ("Gay marriage: Yes or no?").

When you say you have a domestic partnership (or a civil union), people don't know what that means. They may assume it's little more than ceremonial, or they may assume it's a contract that confers all the legal rights of marriage minus the name. It is neither. It's actually a confusing hybrid of those two assumptions, differing from state to state, and not recognized at all federally. It requires extra interaction with lawyers and other professionals just to cobble together some semblance of the rights that heterosexual married couples take for granted. It is, in many ways, undignified.

Call it marriage, and your hospitals and schools and friends and neighbors and coworkers know exactly how to treat you, without having to look up the details. That is access; and that is dignity.

Tom Demi

Newtown

A bright future

for light rail

A letter claiming $500 million is too much money to build a surface trolley line on Market Street may be right, especially in light of existing routes and infrastructure ("Better uses for money than trolley," Thursday).

That said, the opportunity to reconnect treasures such as the convention center, zoo, stadium complex, historic areas, airport, and more by trolley may be just the kind of economic boost Philadelphia needs for its future and may be worth a closer look.