11/19/08 Letters

“We want to live in this city like our religious culture, not a Scott Klein culture,” they said.

I am a devout (Christian) Episcopalian, and I personally know several gay and lesbian priests who are excellent clergy men and women. Our church has a gay Bishop. Does this mean there is no place in Hamtramck for me because I believe differently from my Muslim neighbors?

About 350 years ago, my ancestor, John Green, got into trouble with the people of Plymouth Colony over his religious beliefs. He escaped with his friend Roger Williams and at Providence helped him set up a colony with religious tolerance.

When the Founding Fathers wrote the constitution, they separated church from state in order that religious tolerance could be the law of our land.

For more than 200 hundred years members of my family have worked hard and fought and even given up their lives to support this principle.

So now someone is going to come along and tell me that he doesn’t want someone with my religious beliefs living in his community?

That is not right.

While it is true that we have freedom here, it is also true that we only have freedom as long as it does not involve taking away someone else’s freedom. This means religious freedom as well as any other kind.

You do not have to believe what other people believe, but in this country you must recognize their right to their beliefs.

Maryann Whitty

Hamtramck