Courtney McGrailDear Editor, The point I wish to raise about same-sex marriage is not new, but I think, perhaps, it has not been given sufficient consideration.
I refer to the importance of language and the use of words. I believe, (like most others I’m sure), that everyone has a right to equal respect, care, and compassion. But I cannot see how telling ourselves that A is the same as B – as in ‘marriage’ and ‘same sex partnership when it clearly is not – is either compassionate or even tolerant. On the contrary it simply denies the difference by pretending that it’s not there.
Surely there is a better way to show compassion? Is it not possible for our legal system to find a way to acknowledge the fact that some experience themselves as heterosexual and some don’t, and create laws that provide equal justice for all?
Is it really wise to give any state the right to change the meaning of words in common usage? Words may change their meaning with time, I suppose, as the result of growth – with a kind of unwritten consent by those using the language, but to give a state the right to determine the meaning of words at its own convenience or even that of a majority vote strikes me as potentially dangerous. Do we really need that kind of chaos?
Yours etc.,
Ena Gray,
Ferns,
Co. Wexford.
