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Letter: State lawmakers were right to approve same-sex marriages

With Senate passage of the Civil Marriage Protection Act, the legislative part of the struggle for equal marital rights for all is over.

Given the requirement of 71 affirmative votes in the House and 24 in the Senate and the fact that House Bill 438 received exactly 72 "yes" votes in the first body and 25 in the second, it mattered very much how each legislator voted. So I'm glad that reporter Lindsey McPherson (in your issue of Feb. 23) let the public know how each of the eight delegates representing Howard County voted. All three state senators representing the county did later vote "yes," but no thanks to Delegates Steven DeBoy, Gail Bates, and Warren Miller for voting "no."

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The First Amendment protects the right religious institutions and their clergy to marry or not marry whoever they choose, and HB438 reaffirms that right while affirming the right to civil marriage for all consenting adults. If that doesn't satisfy the opposition and a referendum becomes necessary, the struggle against this particular type of discrimination must continue to be fought until it is won.

Kenneth A. Stevens

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Columbia

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