Spare us same-sex marriage vows
The Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage was a huge victory for the gay community. However, there are a few things I take issue with. To equate gay rights with the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s is a mockery of that movement. No one would know that someone who is white when they are applying for a job is gay unless they tell them. However, with a black person, when they apply for a job or want to enroll in a certain school, it’s quite obvious what race they are and easy to discriminate against them.
Though many of us have gay relatives or acquaintances, according to the Bible this is a sin. Recently, on a TV program, two 80-year-old men were shown kissing at the courthouse while applying for their marriage license. Why do those of us who do not believe in same sex marriage have to be subjected to this being plastered all over our television screens?
GEORGE CAMBLE, ACWORTH
Other aspects of South worth praise
I very much agree with Andre Jackson’s views on the Confederate flag (“Claim a wider heritage,” Opinion, July 5). If the South’s heritage is terrorism towards African-Americans, why should we honor the symbol of that dark side of our history? Do the Germans honor the swastika? We have other wonderful things we can honor, such as our hospitality and love of the land. As a white Southerner, I would encourage others of my race to read some of the accounts of this terrorism, such as those portrayed in Diane McWhorter’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Carry Me Home.” This book describes the civil rights struggle in Birmingham and the often barbaric conditions under which African-Americans were living.
ISABELLE WERBER, ATLANTA
Have fireworks at governor’s mansion
I was somewhat relieved to learn from Monday’s article that I am not the only person in Georgia who does not appreciate having Roman candles, bottle rockets and mortars exploded on the street in front of my house, late at night, by unsupervised teenagers, leaving the mess for me to clean up the next morning (“Newly legal fireworks lead to complaints,” News, July 6). I also learned the sponsors of this new legislation — former state Rep. Jay Roberts of Ocilla and state Sen. Jeff Mullis of Chickamauga — did not respond to requests for comment.
May I suggest scheduling street parties in front of their homes and the homes of every legislator who voted for this bill, as well as the governor’s mansion, for July 4, 2016? Come to think of it, we don’t have to wait until next year to do this, because House Bill 110 lets people shoot fireworks every day of the year from 10 a.m. until midnight.
DIANE TORRES, DOUGLASVILLE
