The following is an excerpt from a letter sent to New York State Sen. Tom Libous.
Sen. Libous,
I could not believe my eyes upon reading the front page of The New York Times on Dec. 2.
I do not pretend this letter will in any way sway the decision you’ve so staunchly declared in the last debate regarding same-sex marriage rights for New York residents. However, seeing as writing to our senators is a privilege few citizens take advantage of, I have decided that you should understand, by the hand of one of the many citizens whom you were selected to serve, exactly why your position is so offensive.
Being selected to represent a state — and most importantly your nation — through your vote and influence is an honor. It requires a very serious commitment to understanding that the decisions you make will seriously affect citizens, the majority of whom exist on a much lesser-privileged layer.
On Dec. 2, you were quoted in Jeremy W. Peters’ article, “New York Senate Votes Down Gay Marriage Bill,” saying this in The New York Times:
“I just don’t think the majority care too much about [same sex marriage] at this time because they’re out of work, they want to see the state reduce spending, and they are having a hard time making ends meet. And I don’t mean to sound callous, but that’s true.”
I have not read a less enlightened statement in print in a long time.
I urge you to redefine “truth” for yourself as being the just and virtuous decision that you could have taken during these deliberations.
I also ask you, since when should civil human rights come second to “making ends meet?”
To my understanding, this nation has often been barely “making ends meet.” But that did not keep the Civil Rights movement or the feminist movement from fighting for and attaining equality under the law.
I also urge you to recall that the country’s financial condition has very little to do with the individual choices our citizens have made and very much to do with the policy choices.
I graduated from my high school (seventh out of a class of 800) with a full scholarship to any university in Florida that I wished to attend. I did not have any expulsions or other reprimands on my record, and I was an involved and well-liked student.
My senior year, I was nearly expelled after I moved to publicly rebut a statement one of the public school teachers made. Over the airways during the morning announcements, she condemned homosexuality and then proceeded to quote the Bible as defense. In case this detail is overlooked, I attended a public high school — Bible quotes were not part of our curriculum.
I took a stance against this blatant disrespect, not only to an entire community attending that high school, but also against the separation of church and state, in which I have a right as an attendee of a public school not to have any religious instruction imposed on me.
Because I didn’t keep silent, I was threatened with expulsion and forced to see an outside community counselor once a week until my graduation date if I wished to graduate. When I questioned my high school principal about the ethics of such a strong chastisement and why she would not allow me to air my rebuttal, she said it would interfere with FCAT testing.
Needless to say, I was outraged at the idea that defending separation of church and state and simultaneously making a stand against that teacher’s complete disrespect of her students and of this policy came second to a menial state test. This is an insult to our principles of justice and democracy.
Your statement on Dec. 2, as you insisted on using the failing economy and individual stress as an excuse for why this bill should not be passed, reminded me a little too much of that horrid episode I endured as an 18-year-old.
Mr. Libous, I respect this country immensely. It offered my family a home when ours was actively being torn to shreds, and it has offered me continuous support in my education and upbringing.
That’s why I cannot believe that citizens would come second in your mind to something intangible like the economy, when its crippling condition has always been beyond our individual control. I urge you to stand by the ideas of justice and virtue, upon which our founding fathers built this nation.
You were selected for your position because of your ability to lead, so do the nation a favor and lead by example. Stand up for what you know is right and stop making excuses for your inaction.
I don’t intend for this letter to be ill-willed. On the contrary, I am writing with my heart in my hand, quite exhausted at having to continue to exist in a world that has told me over and over again, “We do not respect you,” and, “You are not equal.”
Christina Garcia de los Rios is a UF student and a self-identified LGBTQ Cuban-American.
