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<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Boy, that was a hell of a stretch to
get all that from one statement.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>None of us will know whether we were
right or wrong about faith until we die. Period. That's why discussions about
the "hereafter" can never come to a conclusion.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>I've neither defended nor opposed gay
marriage, I couldn't care less about it. To me it's a non-issue, a minor
blip in a sea of other, more important problems. Like, say, the current
state of our economy. Why we are so worried about sending aid to the rest
of the world when we don't do a very good job of taking care of our own
citizens. Why we can't seem to find a real alternative to fossil fuels so that
we can cut off the flow of money to nations who sponsor terrorists. The list
goes on and on.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>In the great scheme of things, there
are issues that are more important and more pressing that could benefit more
people if addressed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Here is the actual question you
asked:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"><EM><FONT size=3>"What's your take on
interracial marriage bans? Good or bad? If bad, why did these bans
exist in the first place and are these the same reasons why gay marriages are
banned?"</FONT></EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Cultural, racial, religious and
personal biases are the reason these bans exist (still do in many cultures,
hence the present tense use of "exist"). They are a double edged
sword.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>On one hand, they can preserve a
culture, on the other they can create stronger bonds between peoples at the
expense of a culture. (I can hear jaws hitting the floor, tongues flopping and
gasping sounds coming from around town. Gaa! Gaa! Gaa!)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Take Indian tribes as an example, how
many full-blooded native peoples are left? My ex-father in law is one of the
last full blooded Coeur d'Alenes, my ex-wife is 50% since her mother was Latina,
which makes my daughter 25% and the last in that lineage to qualify as a
tribal member, leaving my grandson out. Multiply that by hundreds, if not
thousands of marriages like mine. Is it a good thing or a bad
thing?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>My answer to your questions,
<EM>"What's your take on interracial marriage bans? Good or bad?" </EM>is,
"it depends".</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>So my question to you is, "Do societies
have the right to determine what is socially, culturally or
morally acceptable to that society?" Yes or no?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>All of this over my expressing concern
over one sentence: <EM>"They argue that voters alone did not have the authority
to enact such a significant constitutional change."</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><EM><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">"One single object... [will merit] the endless
gratitude of society: that of restraining the judges from usurping legislation."
</FONT></EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00"><EM>"All... being equally free, no one has a
right to say what shall be law for the others. Our way is to put these questions
to the vote, and to consider that as law for which the majority votes."
<BR></EM></FONT></DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00"><EM>"Laws made by common consent must not be
trampled on by individuals."</EM></FONT> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><EM>Thomas Jefferson</EM> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt Tahoma">
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5">
<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title="mailto:scooterd408@hotmail.com CTRL + Click to follow link"
href="mailto:scooterd408@hotmail.com">Scott Dredge</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, November 26, 2008 1:06 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A
title="mailto:editor@lataheagle.com CTRL + Click to follow link"
href="mailto:editor@lataheagle.com">editor@lataheagle.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Cc:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">viz</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> RE: [Vision2020] The Persecution of Quakers:
ShameOnOurPuritanForefathers</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>> Kai wrote:<BR>> <BR>> For each of us, the truth will
be revealed at death.<BR>> <BR><BR>Kai,<BR><BR>And when the truth is revealed
to you, how will you feel about things that you were wrong about and your
actions or non-actions to perpetuate injustices against other persecuted groups
like same sex couples? Do you think that in the great beyond that you will
be asked to defend your stated position that 'separate but equal' treatment of
same sex couples as appropriate in lieu of total equality which has no adverse
affects you or your friends and family members? And if you don't think
that you will be asked to defend your stated position in the hereafter, then
I'll ask you to defend it in the here and now and we'll all see if you are up to
the task.<BR><BR>Also, I never did see your response to my specific question of
'If such an egregious and obvious wrong, why did interracial marriage bans
existed in American society?'.<BR><BR>You did state that you were in an an
interracial marriage (which appears to me for whatever reasons which are
completely none of my business has now ended). What a victory for equal
rights and both you and your partner that society (or more accurately the
activists courts) had revoked interracial marriage which was a reprehensible and
indefensible wrong perpetrated on God knows how many interracial couples.
However, had interracial marriage bans been in effect during the time you were
together with your partner, this still would have not prevented the two of you
from creating offspring. Thus the only perhaps negative effect on your
child who in your words 'is the product of [your interracial] marriage' would
have been that you, your partner, and your child would have not received the
same rights / benefits / protections that are allowed to couples who are not
banned from marrying. Since you think that this is a perfectly appropriate
situation for families of same sex couples to endure, I have mixed feelings when
I say that it's unfortunate that you and your family were not subjected to this
same type of treatment so that you all could then have personally experienced
this situation of being an unequal family and thus clearly now be able to see
all the injustices of this inequality.<BR><BR>Sorry y'all for all the very
personal scenarios in this email. Marriage is a deeply personal union and
people have many different reasons for getting married, but they only have one
for banning a particular group marrying - and that is intense dislike of that
group. Fight on for equality for same couples and their
families.<BR><BR>Happy Thanksgiving all,<BR><BR>-Scott <BR><BR>
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<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">Kai Eiselein<BR>Editor, Latah
Eagle</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>