I feel like I'm reading The Emperor's New Clothes. A few people in this country are saying the most absurd things and rationalizing them with even more absurd reasoning.

To say that gay marriages will benefit this country in any way is simply not true. Governments are established for one purpose, to prevent chaos and promote order. If a man can marry another man, soon he will be able to marry two men, two women, his daughter or his dog. There will be no end.

Your latest propaganda article stating that we need to cater to gays because they are our only hope for a high-tech future is highly insulting. To suggest that only gay people are creative is unbelievable.

Karen Gramke, Liberty Township

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There's no place for opponents to go

Ohio is the 38th state to enact a defense of marriage law. Nine states are considering taking the same action. Just where do these businesses threatening to stay away intend to go? The moon, maybe?

Why is being politically incorrect equated with intolerance, meanness or lack of compassion? Yes, each person deserves respect; but if you read the Defense of Marriage law as written, it does not discriminate. It's legislation that is right and best for our children's future and the culture of our country. Make no mistake that this is cultural warfare.

Anella M. Roser, Covedale

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Heterosexuals enjoy benefits gays can't

If gay marriage is opposed because heterosexual marriage provides the fathers that children need, why are childless marriages tolerated? The issue is broader than that, of course. Beyond all the idealization of heterosexual marriage lies the preservation of privilege and the desire for a scapegoat.

Those who are heterosexual can have tax breaks, inheritance rights, insurance considerations, visitation rights when hospitalized, etc. These are a monopoly for the married heterosexual.

Laurence G. Wolf, Clifton

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Let's work this out without shrill words

Hate is such a powerful, don't-think-just-act word. The Defense of Marriage Act, plus so many other issues, is far more complicated than a one-word representation. We need to talk, to listen and try to understand. We need our leaders and our media to bring light, not heat, not hate; community, not polarization.

Jane Gardner, Hyde Park

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City voters, think carefully of all of us

Cincinnati has acquired a national reputation, brought about by such occurrences as the passage of Article XII by city voters, the actions or inaction of the city's law enforcement officers, the antics of City Council and others.

Greater Cincinnati residents and businesses are affected by this reputation. The population of Greater Cincinnati is around 2 million. The population of the city is less than 25 percent of this total. This percentage is solely responsible for the national reputation we have acquired, and is once again going to vote on something that will inevitably affect us all. I recognize that the city is vital to our existence, and it is for this reason that I ask the voters of the city to consider, unemotionally, what they are doing to all of us.

Wolf Eschenlohr, Springfield Township

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It's younger people Ohio stands to lose

The Defense of Marriage Act will not affect Ohio's business directly. It will be indirectly affected because younger generations may want to live in an area that is more diverse, peaceful and accepting of differences. This law could turn people away, gay or not.

Younger generations are more accepting of gays and lesbians, and other races, religions, etc. The racial problems, along with this new law, will probably be a major turn-off for them. They will choose not to live in Ohio.

Danni Seng, Cheviot

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Anti-gay stance compared to burqa

I brought back a burqa from Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom for my wife as a lark, which she never wore. Women in Afghanistan were not citizens but were like chattel. The scope of the intolerance did not hit me until the other day.

I find intolerance in a foreign nation to be one thing but in my neighborhood another. A neighbor told me me he and his partner were going to vote with their feet. They are planning on moving to Vermont where laws will protect their rights. After seeing the improvements they had put into their homestead, it peeved me.

Ohio may become the new center for displaced people wearing the state burqa.

James Davidson, Norwood