Passage of California's Prop 8, banning same-sex marriage, has opened the door to oppression and tyranny of all minorities.
It also presents a constitutional question:
Do the ninth and 14th amendments of the Constitution apply to all U.S. citizens, as is clearly stated in these amendments; or may the majority pick and choose, according to its own belief system, to deny constitutional rights to particular sub groups in the society?
If the latter be the case, then none of us is safe in our individual differences.
Gay people are legal citizens of the United States and as such are entitled to all the rights of our constitution, just the same as any other citizen is.
One's individual religious beliefs does not give him the right to deny another his civil rights, as enumerated in the Ninth Amendment of the Constitution.
So, the question of gay marriage should not be a religious question but a constitutional one.
Louis A. Mollica
Hollidaysburg