It seems to me that many people miss the point on Question 1, arguing what God wants, what the Bible says, etc.

The fact is, states regulate marriage, not churches, and marriage is subject to the laws of states that pass them.

Maine’s marriage equality law is clear: If a church doesn’t want to perform a gay marriage, it doesn’t have to. In this nation, church and state are separate, and while all are free to worship as they please, society is shaped according to rules of law, not rules of religion.

That’s not to say God’s “laws” are irrelevant; people live by them daily, regulating their lives by them. But it does mean not all people have to follow or accept the same religious precepts.

It’s a principle of this nation that as long as people live within the law, they are free to think as they wish; and all are entitled to the same rights and protections as everyone else. If equality means anything, it means we can’t deny to some what we grant to others.

That idea has kept the nation free from tyranny, either of dictators or of mobs, and people should think hard before denying others rights we so carefully guard for ourselves.

Laws aren’t about sin; they’re not meant to propagate religious ideas. Laws are about what free and reasonable citizens agree will produce the fairest equality for all people.

Richard Matthews, Phillips