This is the text of a Letter which appeared in the Winston-Salem Journal on April 28, 2012

The state and marriage

I'm not gay; I'm not married; and I'm not Christian. I don't know what Jesus or Moses or Muhammad or Confucius, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Zoroaster or others whose religious philosophies guide the spirituality of members of our citizenry thought or said about the institution of marriage. Thus, I may be qualified to speak about the proposed amendment to the N.C. constitution regarding gay marriage.

This divisive issue, like so many others, seems to be one in which winning is more important to each side than reaching an inclusive accommodation. All should stop and ask a basic question: What business is it of the state (as opposed to religious institutions) who gets married? Marriage fundamentally is a religious matter. If one religion, or one church within a faith, prohibits gays or lesbians or others from marrying, so be it. Those who are prohibited in one place may find another place, acceptable to them, in which they may marry.

The state should be, and is, interested in legal matters, such as who may inherit, who is responsible for maintaining whom, who may adopt, who may visit in hospitals, who should get tax deductions or be able to file jointly. I have not heard one persuasive argument that gays should not be able to participate equally in these civil matters, and our state and federal laws should accommodate gays in these regards.

The proposed amendment should be defeated, and the state's relationship to marriage should be severed.