Letters to the Editor

Re: "Why Americans said NO to Gay Marriage"

In the last issue of the Albany Student Press, Chad Polenz wrote an article that took a negative and sometimes incoherent view of gay marriage. He said, "An absence of acceptance is not [sic] same as bigotry or hatred."

I hope to be a business owner some day, and I honestly do not want black people frequenting my establishment. Some of you might find this unacceptable and may call me a bigot. I feel however that since the absence of acceptance is not the same as bigotry, and your complaint has no validity.

Just kidding.

Polenz wrote, "To willingly bring both the government and corporations (i.e. insurance banking) into your life just to make a political statement is just taking the path of most resistance.

"Therefore aren't gays better off as 'civil unions' than married couples?'"

Perhaps someone should have informed him that civil unions are identical to marriage in every way, except for their title.

Since homosexuals cannot get married, they cannot receive pensions from deceased, or even have their lovers visit them in the hospital if they are seriously injured or dying since they do not legally count as family.

Polenz also wrote that the low level of monogamy amongst gay men would deter them from getting married and discourage them.

There are gay men out there who prefer monogamous relationships. I would know because I have had monogamous relationships with men.

He also failed to mention anything about lesbians. The book "Close Encounters" cited a study titled, "Sex in Lesbian Relationships." That study found that 75 percent of lesbian women practice monogamy.

The fact that he only concentrates on gay men in his opinion piece either shows that he has classic homophobia, tunnel vision, or he is someone who did not do any research.

The last argument is that legalizing of gay marriage going mainstream would lead to the legalization of bestiality, pedophilia, polygamy, and scatology.

Two out of the four of those scenarios do not involve consenting adults, and to somehow equate them with gay marriage is foolish. In all honesty, I do not see what is so bad about polygamy being legalized either. If it works for whomever is in that institution, who is to say it is, "Wrong."

Anyone with any modicum of common sense will realize that a number of the arguments he presented in his article were ignorant and devoid of reason.

-James Novak

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In response to the opinion piece entitled, "Why Americans said NO to Gay Marriage," just a few points:

1. Californians said no to gay marriage, as did Floridians and Arkansans, and admittedly a few other citizens of other states in the recent past.

However I hardly believe these states add up to the whole of the union, and I would draw your attention to the happily married gay couples in Massachusetts and now Connecticut as evidence thereof. Americans didn't say no to gay marriage and to suggest otherwise is irresponsible or just poor research.

2. Sometimes the voters are wrong.

Some historians believe that had the abolishment of the Jim Crow laws been left to referendum, they could still be on the books today. If not for an independent judiciary paying careful attention to the words our Founding Fathers painstakingly wrote to form this nation, my friends and I may still be drinking from different water fountains.

3. And speaking of Brown v. Board, why are we now forgetting its immortal lesson that separate is inherently unequal?

I scoff at the consolation prize of "everything but the word marriage," as if the two institutions - marriage and civil unions - could or would ever be universally viewed as the same.

One would inevitably be second-class to the other and therefore would only serve to divide two communities when the strength of this nation comes from the resolve to preserve its unity.

4. Your assertion that gay marriage would fail more miserably than straight marriage is based on stereotypes that you harbor and certainly not on fact.

I challenge you to look up the divorce rate of current gay couples in wedlock - it is significantly lower than those of straight couples.

5. And as for your slippery-slope at the end of your piece - there is not a scholar on this planet worth his or her salt that would see this as a coherent argument for anything.

Why on earth would honoring the commitment of two adults lead to sudden acceptance of bestiality or pedophilia? Your perspective of gay marriage being "unnatural" distorts your view of the true ramifications of allowing gay people the right to get married.

Last I checked in Massachusetts, California and Connecticut (all of which have or had legal gay marriage) those terrible things you list are still healthily illegal. And unless CNN is burying the lead, epidemic cases of animal-fucking has not broken out in our neighboring states.

To conclude, I do not appreciate your guilty conscience for speaking out against the rights of others. If you don't want to be gay-married, then don't do it. So while I and my partner of five years struggle for equality, thank you for reminding us that the mountain we have to climb is much bigger than we hoped it would be.

-Jay Thomas Oddi

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Re: Richard Bailey

Following the tragic loss of one of our own, you'll remember school officials quickly and effectively joining together with city police, holding "Safety Forums" on campus and on Alumni Quad pledging to do everything they could to keep us safe.

In Interim President George Philip's first public words following Bailey's death, he said, "In addition to [me] being outraged, I know the City of Albany is outraged …"

Albany District Attorney David Soares, who won reelection earlier this month, pledged that his very best detectives were on this case and Albany Police Chief James Tuffey said that police would find the individual or those responsible.

President Philip was right-everyone was outraged. How had this happened?

You'll remember that we lost Bailey on Oct. 21. To ease nerves, we saw massive increases in police patrols between our downtown campus and Alumni Quad. Everyone could rest assured; the police would make sure everything was OK.

If you were near Alumni Quad and the downtown campus around then, you'll remember the police patrols that were easily seen through early November. Now though, as we near a month since Bailey's death, police are no where to be seen. What was a car or two on every corner and many officers on foot has been reduced to just one patrol car every few blocks.

Police have very few new leads and we have hardly heard even an update from them. The city's top detectives are stumped and no one has been brought to justice. The police, which infested our streets soon after the shooting are now gone, dispatched to other areas even though our streets are no more safe. A killer still walks.

Even though as students we might only call Albany home for a few years, we have to make sure we take an interest in this community and what goes on here.

We live here, we eat here, and we have made friends here.

We've laughed here and maybe cried here too; we'll remember these times for the rest of our lives and we shouldn't tolerate having to remember losing classmates in senseless acts of violence.

We should still be outraged.

Since we all have a vested interest in Albany, why not do your part to give back and help clean it up? There are so many ways to get involved in service projects, city cleanups and neighborhood watches. Many students aren't aware of how important the Neighborhood Associations are here in Albany and they are another way to help out the city.

As we move towards finding careers, keep in mind that employers are looking for well-rounded students; what a perfect way to boost your stock value and give back to the community at the same time.

Please do your part to help out and just remember to be safe out there; these streets are yours too. -Kyle W. Madden