Sunday letters: An astonishing week for human dignity

SHARE Sunday letters: An astonishing week for human dignity
GAY_MARRIAGE_1_670x999.jpg

A person holds up the Flag of the Commonwealth ofKentucky, the United States Flag and the Rainbow Flag during a press conference discussing the Supreme Court decision to legalize same sex marriage Friday, June 26, 2015, in Louisville, Ky.

What a truly astonishing week for human freedom, dignity, decency and hope. First, the Confederate Flag, a symbol of racism, sedition and slavery, began being ripped down from our public culture, 150 years after it was defeated on the battlefield. Then, on Friday, marriage equality became the law of the land.

Our 228-year-old Constitution was reborn on Friday, proving once again it is a living, breathing symbol of inexorable human progress. Inexorable, that is, when millions of decent citizens push forward the ball of human progress. There is much, much work still to be done. But let’s take a moment to pause and celebrate. Moments like this don’t come very often. Savor it.

Walt Zlotow, Glen Ellyn

SEND LETTERS TO: letters@suntimes.com (Please include the name of your neighborhood or town, and a phone number for verification.)

An historic leap forward for America

On Friday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court announced a decision that represents a historic leap forward, based on values written into our Constitution almost 150 years ago. Relying on the Fourteenth Amendment’s declaration that all are entitled to the equal protection of the law, a majority of justices agreed that all states must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples who apply for them.

I remain proud that Illinois has been a leader in the quest for justice for LGBTQ people. Our state was among the first to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, give same-sex couples the option of a civil union and finally, in 2013, call these committed, state-sanctioned relationships between loving same-sex couples what they are: marriages.

Now, couples who wish to marry, regardless of gender, can enjoy in any state in America the rights we’ve affirmed here in Illinois. This victory will be long remembered in the history of America’s uneven but unstoppable progress toward living up to its foundational principles and, as Justice Kennedy put it, allowing all “persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity.”

My task as a legislator and our task as concerned citizens is now to make the Court’s decision and our existing laws reality on the ground, resisting the discrimination that still faces LGBTQ people, regardless of marital status. Our task is to continue working to make our schools, streets and homes safe for young people seeking to discover who they are. And our task is to keep taking up the cause of justice for all who don’t experience the equal protection of our laws in their daily lives.

I’m profoundly grateful to all of the advocates who brought us to this moment, and it has been one of the greatest honors of my life to work among the many people who tirelessly bend the arc of the universe toward justice.

State Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago

Valerie Jarrett headline misleading

Your front page June 25th headline about Valerie Jarrett is totally misleading.  All of us pay taxes and have views on tax policy.  Unlike most people, Valerie has been working to change the income tax loophole from which she benefits.  The loophole remains because many people who benefit from the break are opposing change.  Valerie is promoting good policy that will, in fact, increase her taxes.

Adele Simmons, Lincoln Park

What’s The Donald’s real bottom line?

Donald Trump’s election to the presidency may result in him taking a dramatic pay cut.  It could be awkward, though, if he is forced to present his recent tax returns and we see his real bottom line. His claimed net worth of $9 billion might shrink. But then, we have found that the Donald inflates other elements of his personality too.

Vincent Kamin, the Loop


The Latest
The man was shot in the left eye area in the 5700 block of South Christiana Avenue on the city’s Southwest Side.
Most women who seek abortions are women of color, especially Black women. Restricting access to mifepristone, as a case now before the Supreme Court seeks to do, would worsen racial health disparities.
The Bears have spent months studying the draft. They’ll spend the next one plotting what could happen.
Woman is getting anxious about how often she has to host her husband’s hunting buddy and his wife, who don’t contribute at all to mealtimes.
He launched a campaign against a proposed neo-Nazis march at a time the suburb was home to many Holocaust survivors. His rabbi at Skokie Central Congregation urged Jews to ignore the Nazis. “I jumped up and said, ‘No, Rabbi. We will not stay home and close the windows.’ ”