This is a Daily Telegram response to this letter. Here is the published letter.

To the editor,

In response to Ken Nichols’ letter Mar. 24 in The Daily Telegram:

My, oh my, what bigotry do we have here? As an American Mr. Nichols can preach, pray and believe in whatever fairy tale he chooses to dictate the sick morality of his life, but to push his perceived supreme belief and lifestyle onto others in a country founded upon religious freedom simply disgusts me.

What surprises me about his argument is his assumption that being American and being Christian are synonymous — they aren’t and thinking so is just narrow minded and, in actuality, faux nationalism. “Christians” transform into “us” as his argument continues and befuddles the Christian religion like a cheap buffet, picking and choosing the delicious juicy bits — though delicious and juicy are subjective.

What god gave you is not be what everyone wants.

The safety of the traditional family unit eludes me. With 50 percent of all marriages ending in divorce, it would seem that the “traditional marriage” has more to worry about than same-sex couples walking down the aisle. Divorce, as science has concluded, is brutal for the emotional and developmental groundwork of the children involved. If a married heterosexual couple provides the “safest” environment for children, why are we risking the future of children born into these potentially dangerous situations?

The financial security once provided by marriage is no longer there, thanks to such things as woman’s rights, something the Bible struggles with greatly. With more women graduating from post-secondary schools and with it the accessibility to better paying jobs, women don’t need marriage to live successfully, as much as that pains many who follow the Scripture. “Let a woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer no woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man; but to be in silence.” (1 Timothy 2:11-12)

For those that oppose same-sex marriage, remember, you will be on the wrong side of history and be laughed at like the racists of the 1960s who opposed the anti-segregation movement and inter-racial marriages.

I, as an American, cannot and will not stand idly by as hatred and bigotry from a religion that has had its hand in the murders of millions for what it thinks to be right continue to discriminate against my family, friends and coworkers. This bigotry is a disgrace that plagues our nation.

Anthony Alaniz