LETTERS: Gay marriage, K-Rod and early retirements

The real heart of the gay-marriage issue

I would sincerely like to applaud Newsday for "Heart of the matter" , on why same-sex marriage cannot be denied. As a same-sex married couple of 10 years with two beautiful, very happy and well-adjusted children, my partner and I had to go to Connecticut to have our relationship properly validated.

I've noticed that people in New York still have a hard time accepting our family as valid. We are a law-abiding society, and if our laws say it's not valid, then our society will follow suit. There is no denying that discrimination in this area is deeply rooted in moral judgments and unfounded parental theories that are incorrectly steering our society from the real facts - that we "gays" are just as "normal" as everybody else.

I can't wait until the term "gays" ceases to exist, and we all blend together as a cohesive, accepting and fundamentally caring society rooted in equal rights. Discrimination in any way, shape or form has never been a positive force in our society, but has in fact caused a great deal of violence and harm.

Christine Santorini

Garden City

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Your "Heart of the matter" editorial, like U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker's decision, succumbs to emotion rather than to reason.

Objections to same-sex marriage do not rest at base on a discriminating conviction, a "private bias," Judge Walker calls it, that opposite-sex couples are "morally" superior to same-sex couples, but rather on the rational certainty that the ability to perform the generative act is a basic constituent of marriage and always has been. Same-sex couples are constitutionally unable to do it.

Nature universally disqualifies same-sex persons from engaging in the generative act. No question of discrimination arises - in fact that charge is a red herring. Nature has made men and women sexually different. Marriage is, indeed, a fundamental right - if one qualifies. A father cannot marry his daughter, or a mother her son. Brother and sister cannot marry. A 7-year-old male and female cannot marry. Same-sex persons even more radically do not qualify; they cannot in nature be the subject of a right to marry one another.

That's nature and the natural moral law, which the civil law flouts at society's peril. There lies the heart of the matter.

Rev. Msgr. Daniel S. Hamilton

Lindenhurst

Editor's note: The writer is pastor emeritus at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church.

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Seven million California voters have declared in no uncertain terms that in their state, marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Yet a single district judge has negated that law. Now it's up to the 9th Circuit to uphold the district judge or the state. Pending the outcome of that deliberation, the issue will probably land in the Supreme Court so that a few more judges can mull it over.

I have a question: Is this the United States of America, or the United Judges of America?

Catherine N. Dillon

Manhasset

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It is ironic that in your editorial you state that "Walker's logic is inescapable. 'Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis for singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license.' "

What is logical about a judge overturning the democratic process, whereby the people of California voted to define marriage as between a man and a woman? Once again, what the liberals can't achieve in the ballot box, they achieve in the courts - and to hell with the will of the people.

Marriage has been defined by thousands of years of religious and civil tradition that institutionalized the unit of procreation. Since people of the same sex can't procreate with each other, marriage between members of the same sex is totally illogical.

Gerald Fortsch

Smithtown

K-Rod kraziness

The worst part of Francisco Rodriguez's altercation is that it took place in front of other families, especially in the presence of children . Putting him on the "restricted list" for two games without pay isn't enough. If the Mets ownership really wants to send him a message about his unacceptable behavior, a 10-game "restricted list" would be more appropriate!

Bob Buscavage

Moriches

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Who even knew that the police had overnight holding cells at Citi Field? The Mets could be on the verge of another great marketing opportunity. They can build some cells of their own, and offer fans - at a premium - the chance to be bunk mates with a Mets great from the past or present.

This franchise that we think of with love has had what seems is more than its share of nasty incidents. Selling Citi cells could be a way to make steak out of gristle.

Jim Burns

Valley Stream

Going out early

First the state wants to add an extra pension tier to make civil servants have to work longer to get their pension, and now they want to give us an incentive to leave early "A big reason to go out early," News, Aug. 11]. Which one is it?

Ed Serrao

Rockville Centre

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Paid medical insurance for life, union work rules that promote inefficiency and waste, cashing in on vast reserves of unused sick and vacation time, piling on overtime to boost salaries for pension calculations, the list goes on and on. And now, early retirement incentives. Is there no end to this fiscal nightmare?

At one time, one couldn't expect to get rich from a public sector job. The security and guarantee of a modest pension for life were incentive enough to toil for relatively low pay. Even those notions have been turned on their head, with unlimited overtime (due to unproductive work rules) which results in workers doubling and even tripling their annual salaries and boosting pensions into the stratosphere.

In the private sector, such benefits are unheard of. Want to retire early? Better make sure your 401(k) hasn't tanked like everyone else's. Retiree medical insurance? Get ready to pay through the nose. A lifetime pension? Don't make me laugh.

The only way for this state to get back on its fiscal feet is to tighten its belt and start acting more like the private sector. That includes the taboo subject of layoffs. Yes, public sector employees will scream in objection - but these perks aren't God given, are they?

We can no longer afford the crushing taxes that feed this monstrosity. So enjoy your early retirement on my dime. Me? My full retirement age is 67-plus. With a little luck, maybe I can think about retirement then.

Robert Lenahan

Moriches