Radnor Democratic Party

To the Editor:

A letter last week (John J. Pino, "In defense of marriage") argues that same-sex marriage would bring down civilization in the United States. I disagree.

Homosexual couples seek equal rights under the United States Constitution. In opposition, last week’s writer claims that marriage is more fundamental than a right. Yet under the Constitution, there is no distinction between a right and something that is fundamental. Certain rights are the most fundamental things protected by the Constitution. In 1967, in Loving v. Virginia, the United States Supreme Court explicitly declared marriage to be a fundamental right, "one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness..."

Thus, by presupposing that marriage is something more fundamental than a right, last week’s letter relies on a false distinction -- sometimes known as a distinction without a difference.

But this is not just about logic; it is about human beings. In the Loving case a married couple, a black woman and a white man, had been convicted of violating Virginia’s miscegenation statute. Their sentence was suspended on condition that they leave the state.

To the Editor:

A letter last week (Aug. 11) from "a proud member of the Valley Forge Patriots" reveals the dynamics between the so-called Tea Party movement and the Republican Party. After thanking this newspaper for its coverage of Tea Party events in which the Patriot participated, the Tea Party Patriot asks readers to vote in November for four candidates. All are Republican. Plus, admonishes the Tea Party Patriot, "if you are not registered to vote Republican, please do so immediately."

It is not unusual for a Republican campaign to fire salvos through a non-affiliated group whom the campaign may then disavow. In 2004 the so-called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth did the dirty work of the Bush campaign by transforming a legitimate war hero into an apparent war criminal. Is the Republican Party now using the Tea Party movement in the same way? The GOP may think so, but I believe it is more than that.