Personal beliefs don’t belong in constitution
To the editor:
A writer of an April 27 letter to the editor urges people to vote yes on the proposed marriage amendment because, he says, failure of its passage would threaten his religious beliefs.
It would do no such thing. The writer would continue to be able to exercise his own religious beliefs and his church would continue to conduct its own marriage ceremonies in accordance with that religion. Passage of the amendment, however, would prohibit other people from exercising their own beliefs regarding marriage, whether they are based on religion or not. The writer has no right to expect that his personal religious beliefs be enshrined in the state constitution and imposed on others.
The constitution of the state of Minnesota is a document created to enable the functioning of a secular governmental institution. Inserting the religious beliefs of any particular religion or religions in the state constitution is contrary to the purpose and reason for that document. It is also contrary to the constitution of the United States, under which the state was created and to which it must conform.
Wayne Sames
Eagan
