New York Legislature to Vote on Same Sex Marriage

I received the following email today from John Vennari of Catholic Family News and am passing it on. Many don't understand the ramifications of redefining the family. It will be sad if we all have to learn the hard way!

As many of you know, a vote on so-called same-sex "marriage" is scheuled for this week in New York. Here is a letter our own Dr. Bonnette quickly typed and sent to the NY Senate. Dr. Bonnette is a Thomistic philosopher who co-founded the Aquinas School of Philosophy with Dr. Raphael Waters. - jv

As a professional philosopher who taught at Niagara University for over 36 years, including many courses in ethics, I urge you to vote to preserve traditional marriage.

Calling a horse a cat does not make it a cat. Marriage is a natural institution which is the very foundation of our society. Redefining it will have massive impact on our nation, and must not be done in the haste of political polling or phone call inundations.

Against the alleged "right" of homosexuals to marry stands the inalienable and undoubted right of men and women to enter traditional marriage.

A right is not merely something we want. It is the moral power to fulfill an obligation. Procreation makes parents obligated to raise children, and hence gives them certain rights others do not share. It is because marriage is the natural institution which assures the continuation of society that society gives a special privilege to married couples in the form of marriage recognition. Homosexuals do not naturally procreate, and thus do not, by nature, merit this same privilege. Anyone can adopt, but that does not mean that they can enter a union which naturally gives rise to the next generation.
Homosexuals have the exact same rights as heterosexuals already, namely, the right to marry a person of the opposite sex. Thus the traditional institution in no way violates laws against descrimination.

If you fail to protect traditional marriage, a new and coercive form of descrimination will befall those whose consciences cannot condone homosexual acts, even though they may love people who happen to be homosexual. Then it will be too late to protect the conscience rights of the majority who do not personally approve of this behavior.

Please do not betray your oath to preserve and protect New York society. Vote no on same sex marriage.

Dennis Bonnette, Ph.D.
Youngstown, NY