Thomas Wright, Sartell
“Vote no. Don’t limit the freedom to marry” proclaims the most misleading yard sign of 2012. On the surface this message sounds wonderful. All decent and caring people desire liberty and compassion for all. Why not drop all limits on the freedom to marry?
Just and sensible governments have always limited the freedom to marry. The wisdom of thousands of years of civilization teaches us restricting the freedom to marry contributes to the well-being of society. It’s generally not good to engage in polygamy, or for young children, or closely related people, to marry. Limit the freedom to marry? Of course!
In some other states, a few judges have been allowed to radically redefine marriage against the majority’s will. In Minnesota, marriage is the union of one man and one woman. The proposed amendment seeks to make it more difficult to tamper with one of society’s basic building blocks. Before cavalierly altering the DNA of culture, let’s first carefully and objectively study the likely consequences for our children and families. Wisely and compassionately, for the common good, let’s continue to limit the freedom to marry. Freedom without limits is anarchy. I will vote YES on Nov. 6.
