To be fair, shouldn't our mayor endorse other forms of marriage too?

        About modern-day Longmont—and I’ve lived in Boulder County for 43 years--it seems that no sooner does one divisive issue such as the proposed LifeBridge annexation fade away, than another controversy arises. In this case, it's the mayor’s action in endorsing same-sex marriages on an advocacy website.

       That he has every right as an ordinary citizen to endorse whatever he chooses is indisputable. But I also believe that his signature as mayor indicates or at least strongly implies that he is speaking in behalf of the people of Longmont when, as far as I know, the council has never taken a position on this issue. Nor do we know how many people in our community might feel that if it is wrong to restrict the right to marry, then that freedom should be extended equally to people who passionately believe in polygamy or even same-blood marriage, who plead that they too are being discriminated against.

        The Longmont Municipal Code provides, among other things, that the city council shall consist of seven members, one of whom is mayor. Each council member is required to affirm support for the U.S. and Colorado constitutions.

       Federal Law (1 U.S. Code Sec.7): Under the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) the word marriage means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.

       Colorado Constitution (14-2-104(1)(b): Requires a marriage to be between one man and one woman. Like the federal government, Colorado does not recognize same-sex marriages even if performed in the six states that allow them: New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, plus Washington D.C.

       If dozens of mayors across the land wish to sign the advocacy website, that’s between them and their constituents. What happens in Longmont’s local government is my business and yours, as residents.