Letters: Proposition 8 clarifies whois eligible and who is not

Mr. Ralph Johansen's assessment of Proposition 8 ("Prop. 8 violates Constitution's equal protection clause," Oct. 25) may be accurate, but I do not believe it is. Nowhere in Article XIV do I see any reference to marriage, much less an enumeration of who is eligible and who is not. I ask all the recent anti-8 letter-writers to present without obfuscation the clearly delineated civil rights they believe are being abrogated under Proposition 8.

Rather than discriminating against anyone, Proposition 8 clarifies beyond any doubt who is eligible and who is not. The institution of marriage will be maintained as a unique state rather than becoming defiled by counterfeit "marriages." Lest some poor souls feel left out, "get used to it" is my advice. If some wish to argue that refusing to allow men to "marry" men and women to "marry" women is discriminatory, it can be argued with equal justification that to prohibit a 13-year-old citizen from marrying a 40-year-old citizen because they are love-oriented, is equally discriminatory. In case some feel that argument is moot, I would venture the opinion that the idea has much support in some circles, e.g. the North American Man/Boy Love Association.

Mr. Johansen appears to hold the view that because a person is "oriented" (whatever that means) toward a person of the same sex, that should qualify them to specially-owed preferential treatment. The scenario over and over today with laws that give homosexuals special treatment and protections is an obscenity to our legal system. That represents egregious reverse discrimination in my humble opinion.

As to Mr. Johansen's statement that "homophobia" exists mainly in Western cultures, it stands in stark contrast to recent images I viewed of homosexual men in Iran (a decidedly non-Western country) hanging by their necks from overhead cranes and accompanying articles presented regarding the spate of beatings and slaughter committed against homosexuals by zealous Muslims. Western "intolerance" seems pretty anemic by contrast, doesn't it? Got a complaint regarding discrimination against homosexuals? Tell it to an Ayatollah or Imam!

Dale L. Bohling

Crescent City