On Nov. 7, I will vote "no" on Virginia's ballot question 1! And if you believe in the sanctity of the Virginia onstitution and the freedom of all people to enjoy the fruits of this great commonwealth, you, too, will vote "no."

I will vote "no" for several reasons:

1. We should not sully the Virginia constitution with religiously motivated and arbitrary controls.

2. The state should never restrict the rights of one group simply to allay the fears of another.

3. One man/one woman provisions of law, in Virginia and elsewhere, will be overturned by higher constitutional courts.

The constitution is a solemn document, from which the rights of all Virginians originate.

The constitution addresses large, encompassing issues: the allowable scope of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches; the definition and power of local governments; and other secular issues. The definition of marriage does not belong in the constitution.

It seems the impetus for this amendment is the fear of some that allowing same-sex unions or other family constructs will somehow diminish the value of a marriage between one man and one woman.

Marriage values are intrinsic to the partners involved; they are not defined by law. Therefore, the fear that alternative family constructs will lead to the decay of one man/one woman unions is a personal fear.

There is no constitutional justification for the state's defining marriage. The constitution protects all people, not simply those with narrow, religiously motivated views, xenophobes, and homophobes. Moreover, I can't help but believe that in 50 years or so we will look back on these marriage issues with disgust and confusion, the way we now look back, with disgust and confusion, on inter-racial marriage laws of the 1950s.

Spotsylvania