Across the United States, citizens are becoming more vocal in their support or disapproval of the rights of homosexual couples to engage in marriage or a civil union.
In San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom announced Feb. 12 that the city would process marriage licenses for gay couples. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed his disapproval and ordered the state attorney general to obtain a court order preventing San Francisco from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. Two California judges have declined to issue the requested court order.
At Baylor University in Waco, Texas, the student newspaper was reprimanded by the university president for running an editorial supporting the efforts of San Francisco’s government. Five of the editors of “The Lariat,” which is published by Baylor University, voted to run the editorial while two editors voted against it. Baylor University is the largest Baptist university and Texas’ oldest institution of higher learning.
“Taking into account equal protection under the law, gay couples should be granted the same equal rights to legal marriage as heterosexual couples,” the editorial states. “Just as it isn’t fair to discriminate against someone for their skin color, heritage or religious beliefs, it isn’t fair to discriminate against someone for their sexual orientation.”
Baylor University president Robert B. Sloan Jr. issued a statement against the newspaper editorial.
“This position held by five students does not reflect the views of the administration, faculty, staff, Board of Regents or Student Publications Board,” Sloan’s statement reads. “While we respect the right of students to hold and express divergent viewpoints, we do not support the use of publications such as ‘The Lariat’ to advocate positions that undermine foundational Christian principles upon which this institution was founded and currently operates.”
Larry Brumley, a Baylor University spokesperson, said the institution has received several dozen letters, phone calls and e-mails from alumni expressing various opinions about Sloan’s statement. He also said letters to the editor from students have been running daily in “The Lariat” ever since the original editorial was published.
Brumley stressed that the issue is not whether “The Lariat” has the right to publish news articles about homosexuality.
“The issue is that the editorial advocated a policy against the fundamental Christian principles of this university,” Brumley said.
In December 2003, Baylor revoked a seminary student’s scholarship after the student admitted he was gay. The student no longer attends the university.
The debate over whether to allow unions between gay couples has also embroiled Wisconsin and its residents. The Wisconsin State Assembly passed a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman March 5. The amendment also invalidates civil unions of homosexual couples.
Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, is in favor of unions between gay couples and voted against the amendment. He said while the future of legal gay marriage is far off in the state of Wisconsin, attitudes are changing.
“It will probably take many years [to change],” Black said. “But polls have shown that the younger generation is much more accepting on this issue, while the older generation are not.”
According to a March 4 article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Dane County Clerk’s Office turned down 11 requests for marriage licenses from gay couples Feb. 12.
“In states such as California and New York, where officials in some communities are giving licenses to same-sex couples, the licenses are not valid because the state doesn’t recognize the marriage,” Dane County Clerk Joe Parisi told the Sentinel. Parisi said he supports gay marriage.
