Overlapping votes

To the editor:

Since April 5, many letters to the editor have claimed that those who voted for the amendment to reaffirm the state’s traditional definition of marriage (i.e., between one man and one woman) are, among other things, Fred Phelps, “homophobic harpies,” “bigots” and “fascists.”

Douglas County overwhelmingly voted against the amendment, and this is not the first time the county has disagreed with the rest of Kansas. For example, Douglas County voted for the last three Democratic Party candidates for president, while the vast majority of Kansas voted for the GOP candidates.

Douglas County voted for John Kerry in 2004. According to The Boston Globe, Kerry in February 2004 said he “supports amending the Massachusetts Constitution to ban gay marriage.”

Douglas County voted for Al Gore in 2000. Gore’s campaign in early 2000 made it clear that he opposed same-sex marriage. In addition, The Nov. 4, 2000, Topeka Capital-Journal reported that Gore actively sought Fred Phelps’ political support when he ran for president in 1988.

Douglas County voted for Bill Clinton in November 1996. Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in September 1996. DOMA explicitly recognized “marriage” as “a legal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife.”

I believe it’s reasonable to assume there’s a great deal of overlap between those who voted for Kerry, Gore and Clinton and those who voted against the amendment concerning same-sex marriage. How exactly do these voters justify voting for bigots, fascists and Phelps’ “homophobic harpies”?

Kevin Groenhagen,

Lawrence