April 13, 2004

The Providence Journal-Bulletin
75 Fountain Street
Providence, RI 02902

Dear Editors:

In his April 9 letter about marriage and gender, Paul Pagano 
states that his opposition to marriage for same-gender couples 
is motivated by belief “in a just God who instituted marriage 
between a man and a woman for love and a perpetuation of his 
created beings.”  This being a religiously free country, Mr. 
Pagano is free to believe anything he wants about God and 
marriage, but his beliefs do not and cannot trump the beliefs 
of those of us who are compelled by our faith to work for equal 
marriage rights. Nor, even more importantly, do his beliefs 
outweigh Constitutional guarantees of equal protection under 
the law.


Sincerely,
Barbara Lamond Purdom			
Christopher Purdom
Interfaith Working Group Coordinators