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1 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories New Peace House director has national profile Some OSF crew members seek to unionize Saturday Growers Market reopens in Ashland Ashland man allegedly dragged woman with vehicle Some trails, roads remain closed due to controlled burn Education Levy backers eye final push Neal Simon: This is a test Grade-school philanthropist Ashland, Scenic win Brain Bowl competitions Ten nonprofit proposals get a chance to pitch for support Environment Some trails, roads remain closed due to controlled burn Earth Day: Hope for our 'pale blue dot' Adjustments, contributions keep Mt. Ashland on course Rarely seen Pacific fisher to have prominent spot Students at Walker Elementary School in Ashland get hands dirty for Earth Day Business Saturday Growers Market reopens in Ashland Harry & David weighs down 1-800-Flowers during latest quarter Adjustments, contributions keep Mt. Ashland on course Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland to host Thanks for the Memories' 'Company' for one night Cars We Remember: Mr. Hot Rod’s 1966 Chevelle 396 Politics and elections BREAKING: Baltimore prosecutor charges officers in Gray's death Arthur I. Cyr: Cuba’s enduring challenge to American foreign policy – and American politics Kent Bush: Clinton 2.0 is neither new nor improved Arthur I. Cyr: Britain’s earthquake election Council wants changes to agreement with ODOT for I-5 welcome center State News Bill under debate in Oregon would limit livestock antibiotics Oregon lawmakers begin minimum wage debate Runners to follow historic salmon migration path Nation - World There's a $10 million precious stone hidden in plain sight at Grand Central Tsarnaev convicted on all charges in Boston Marathon bombing Obituaries Death Notices Death Notices Edward Joseph Pentkowski Death Notices Kenneth Lee Barger Shareable Sports Latest Stories Same old Raiders Ashland softball team rolls past Springfield Blazers head home after season marked by injuries Who's got next? Levy backers eye final push High school Ashland softball team rolls past Springfield Penn, Norvell, Baldrica pace Ashland track team at Crater Two Raiders place seventh in CCC Multis Neal, Reitman lead SOU at multi-event championships Ashland Karate Academy racks up trophies in Medford Southern Oregon University Same old Raiders Ashland softball team rolls past Springfield Who's got next? Oregon coaches, players ready to 'split up and play' Fourteen Raiders earn CCC academic honors Voices Latest Stories Guest Opinion: Restoring the Plaza's sense of place Herb Rothschild Jr: Framing the debate Guest Opinion: Making conservation a game Philip Maddocks: Candidates eager to reconnect with everyday billionaires Matthew T. Mangino: Baltimore boils over again Editorial Our View: Reading the tea leaves Our View: Don't ignore ballot Our View: Ski area slips by Our View: Child care conundrum Our View: Fun with university funding formulas Letters Letters to the Editor, May1 Letters to the Editor, April 30 Letters to the Editor, April 29 Letters to the Editor, April 28 Letters to the Editor, April 27 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: Restoring the Plaza's sense of place Guest Opinion: Making conservation a game Guest Opinion: A good day to act Guest Opinion: Allegations unfair to Dr. Tomashefsky Guest Opinion: Fremont cottonwood is not a hazard Columns Guest Opinion: Restoring the Plaza's sense of place Herb Rothschild Jr: Framing the debate Guest Opinion: Making conservation a game Jeffrey Gillespie: Thoughts on marriage equality Editor's Notes: A Day in the Life Chris Honore Council Corner Editor's Notes Jeffrey Gillespie Herb Rothschild Revels Latest Stories Five picks for entertainment this week Community blog: A poem in your pocket or smart phone or hand Movie listings: May 1-7 Trio Brasileiro plays Old Siskiyou Barn 'Ex Machina' captivates with style, big questions Theater Some OSF crew members seek to unionize Ticket Availability East meets west in one-man show Backstage: Ashland Film Festival programmer Feinberg played major role in its success Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland to host Thanks for the Memories' 'Company' for one night Music The Farr Side: CMAs do it right, in many ways Interview: Offspring plays hits new and old on tour The Farr Side: Slow disappearance of physical music On TV: Your guide to the Academy of Country Music Awards The Farr Side: Intriguing time on the Hot 100 Visual Art More films, excitement than ever for AIFF Movies Movie review: ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ has a lot going on Movie review: ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ knows how to party Catching up with the Avengers Movie listings: May 1-7 'Ex Machina' captivates with style, big questions Food and Drink Taqueria Picaro takes over Tabu space Owner of Mix and Amuse to bring Flip burger joint to Ashland Business profile: Couple opens second Pita Pit in Ashland Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Unexpected courage turns fear to peace Find the starry ‘kite’ in the eastern sky Life Lessons & Loves: An ode to the sane and wonderful mothers-in-law Dr. Murray Feingold: Turn down that noise Health Watch: Pack your pantry with healthy items Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Rogues: Tales from the Valley Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW Ashland Calendar, Saturday, May 2 ... Guest Opinion: Restoring the Plaza's sense of place ... Herb Rothschild Jr: Framing the debate ... Ashland Calendar, Saturday, May 2 ... Guest Opinion: Restoring the Plaza's sense of place ... Herb Rothschild Jr: Framing the debate ... ANOTHER VIEW Jeffrey Gillespie: Thoughts on marriage equality Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted May. 1, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted May. 1, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Let's get it out of the way early, folks. The equality question is deeply personal for me. I grew up under one of the foulest systems of government in world history — apartheid South Africa during the 1970s and 1980s. Throughout my formative years, older members of my own family (all now dead) wouldn't let a black person into the house to clean the floors or wash the windows. There was a color spectrum, you see. Whites ruled the roost. People of mixed race were considered "worthy" of indoor work. Blacks should remain outside, most ideally in zones reserved especially for them. The apartheid ethos stated that this was best for everyone. Its supporters felt that they were helping God's natural plan — by way of a little man-made segregation. Today, South Africa has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world. Discrimination of any kind has been scrubbed aggressively from the language and the letter of the law. Interracial marriage, previously banned, has been legalized. So too has marriage between people of the same gender. And thank goodness for it, because if these laws were not guaranteed under the Constitution of the Republic, four out of the six people in my immediate family would be considered second-class citizens today. They still are considered as such in much of the United States. After hearing oral arguments on Tuesday, the Supreme Court may deign to take steps to eliminate such obvious discrimination from the public discourse, provided the anti-gay lobby doesn't get its way. I say the anti-gay lobby because that is precisely what it is. They are not about being "pro-marriage" or "conventional". They are about an aggressive assault on our founding documents in an attempt to write discriminatory language into permanent law. Simply put, none of the arguments against the legalization of same sex marriage add up. The religious right would have you believe that marriage equality will somehow affect the nuclear family, but there is little chance of that. Since 87 percent of Americans identify as traditional Christian, there will always be plenty of orthodoxy to go around. Many of those traditionalists identify gay marriage as a "sin", but that is still a religious distinction, not a constitutional one. The 14th Amendment (the very same amendment that was bitterly contested when it was adopted in 1868 to address inequality relating to former slaves) exists primarily to prevent the interests of a dominant class from intersecting with the personal freedoms of others not yet so privileged. However, the "family values" sector seems to feel that the freedom provided under the Constitution should only be applicable if it doesn't upset their personal perspectives. Interestingly, the 14th Amendment was also used by conservatives as a key legal instrument in helping to win the White House for George W. Bush in 2000's Bush vs. Gore. Arguments are now being heard for marriage equality. Some of the court's conservative members have already made the shameful argument that same-sex couples should not be given equal marriage rights simply because they have not enjoyed them in the past. By that measure, should electricity, antibiotics, air travel, and information technology also be cast aside as blights on the culture, under the bizarre logic that they did not previously exist? The simple fact is that heteronormative behavior and the premiership of a straight, male-dominated culture has stifled women, people of color and people of so-called "nontraditional" gender and sexual orientation for far too long. If we are a country that truly puts personal liberty before pervasive prejudice, we need not write a new chapter into our Constitution. We need simply look at the protections that are already there: that every citizen is afforded equal protection under the law. That means protections under existing marital law, as well, for any persons wishing to wed. One would hope that these truths will become self-evident at the Supreme Court over the next few months. Jeffrey Gillespie's writing has appeared in the Santa Fean and Art Collector magazines, the Portland Mercury and Willamette Week. He lives in Ashland. 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