December 17, 2003

Asheville Citizen-Times
Box 2090
Asheville, NC 28801

Dear Editors:

We were disturbed by the December 13 letter-writer who wanted to limit marriage
to a subset of Christians who believe that marriage is a gender-specific
institution that "typifies the mystical union between Christ and his church."
We are fortunate to live in a country with Constitutional guarantees of free
speech and religious exercise in which civil marriage is available to all
mixed-gender people of all faiths and religious affiliations regardless of
their understanding of or belief in the Christian Bible. Buddhist, Ethicist,
Hindu, Jewish, Moslem, Sikh, Unitarian-Universalist, and even progressive
Christian couples are married every day in religious and civil ceremonies all
over the country, and a growing number of religious organizations,
congregations and clergy marry and otherwise bless the unions of same-gender
couples.  It will be a small but important step forward when civil marriages
are also available to same-gender couples of all faiths and affiliations.


Sincerely,
Barbara Lamond Purdom	
Christopher Purdom
Interfaith Working Group Coordinators