Ma'am; It may be that marriage as we know it is between a man and a woman... Okay, and that has been the law; but even the Bible has different forms of Marriage,  Poligamy as it has often appeared; divorce, and even a little Polytheism...How many examples of incest and inbreeding??? How many times was a wife introduced as a sister in the Bible??? Certainly there was a little embarassment; but who wouldn't be embarassed by marriage to their sister??? The Bible does not have Gay marriage, but it does have prohibitions to men who had their testicles crushed between two stones being considered as men by the community... In fact, this was the way extra little boys were treated, put in a warm bath to have their gonads crushed... No problem, right??? It does not matter if it is the law, or right out of the Bible; those who hope to find justification for evil or good have their support... But we cannot justify following the book or the law into abuse of real people, and fellow citizens... I don't want to abuse them; and I don't want them to abuse me...Looking at the example of primitives around the world, people have survived being flexible on the choice of partners... It is hard to imagine a people more cruel, or a people surrounded by more cruel people than the Hebrews... Even they usually made their accomodations with nature... We should do the same...Try to remember that we have only had Western Law in its present form for less than a thousand years; and under law, our wealth has grown -along with our prisons and the scale of our wars... So has our injustice grown and the intrustion of society into personal affairs... We all survived fromthe primitive marriage relations of our forefathers... We cannot say how, or if society will survive its experiment with LAW...From my perspective it is not working at all... Thanks...Sweeney

Ms. Saunders:
I frequently read your column and as often as not agree or disagree with you. In today's words on the conflict over the future definition of marriage one phrase stands out. Gay activists are not practicing the tolerance they want bestowed on them.
November 6th my partner and I went for a walk and a bite to eat in our neighborhood (The Castro) feeling very sad. He and I had just lost a dear friend and were still in shock. As we strolled back to Eighteenth Street, the protest march opposing the vote on Prop. 8 materialized. We stood and watched, eventually talking with other onlookers or exchanging a smile or joke with a marcher with a particularly pointed or funny placard. For instance, chickens have rights, gays don't. It was peaceful. A number of children participated. In a funny way it raised our spirits.

Over the next week I wrote several drafts of a letter to the editors (which I never sent); and read those printed in the SF Chronicle and elsewhere. I was disturbed by the rancor of some. I also discussed the issue with acquaintances and was sympathetic if a little surprised by the reason one gentleman gave for voting against gay marriage rights -- medical insurance costs to cities and counties.
Gays are a well organized political bloc in the Bay Area. They have won some acceptance here. Throughout California they are often misunderstood partly because of a lack of respect for those with more 'conventional'
life choices.
Through a long and odd set of circumstances I am registered as a Republican and have never bothered to change my registration in past years. I received an enormous amount of campaign literature and robo-calls targeting me as an potential opponent of gay marriage. It would have been funny if it were not so sad.
I've lived in San Francisco close to 40 years and no way am I going to deny my neighbors their 'civil rights'.
The assumption that as a Republican I would necessarily be opposed is naive. The campaign against Prop.8 was crude, thoughtless, shrill, childish and offensive.
That's enough.

Oh, by the way, what about the attempt of Proposition 8's supporters to do exactly the same thing, in order to extort money from the oppoenents of the measure? (As reported at http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Prop_8_Backers_Threaten_to_Out_Opponents.html) Has Ms. Saunders spoken out against that as well (and did she do it at that time)?