April 19, 2004

Yakima Herald-Republic
Box 9668
Yakima, WA  98909

Dear Editors:

We were confused by Marvel A. Lee’s April 13 letter. Sexual activity 
between people of the same gender has been legal in every state in 
the union since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Lawrence v. Texas decision.  
Since no state in the union currently grants licenses to same-gender 
couples it is obviously not true that marriage licenses are required 
for sexual activity. Civil marriage is a civil status shared by pairs 
of consenting adults. It has no religious or sexual requirements, nor 
can its benefits, rights, and responsibilities be duplicated through 
any other set of contracts. This being a religiously free country, every 
congregation, religious organization, clergy person and individual is 
free to define marriage for themselves, and every religious group is 
free to choose their own spiritual leaders according to their own criteria, 
regardless of marital status, sexual orientation, or Lee’s understanding 
of the Ten Commandments.


Sincerely,
Barbara Lamond Purdom			
Christopher Purdom
Interfaith Working Group Coordinators