To the editor:

It is heartening to see that certain congregations of the Christian and Jewish faiths in Lawrence are taking strong stands against a proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban legal recognition of gay and lesbian marriages in Kansas.

On April 5, we as voters can speak out to affirm the long-heralded and revered American principles of social justice and guarantees of equal rights for all of our citizens. Let us not fail to act on this opportunity to defeat prejudice and discrimination against a specifically targeted segment of society simply because their gender preference for commitment to a marriage partner may be different than for the majority of citizens.

Our state constitution should not become a written tool to justify social discrimination that would deny anyone equal privilege of making his or her decision about who they can marry legally, including if that choice is a person of the same sex. The decision about whom to marry should be entirely a private matter of choice between two people and not one that is subject to public scrutiny or the moral values and religious judgments of others.

Donald Moss,

Lawrence