I'm disturbed by letters regarding the passage of Proposition 8 and would like to respond to those in the Dec. 4 issue by Kelly Taggart and Lisa Caestaecker.

The headline of Ms. Caestecker's letter is disturbing in itself: "If you don't like Prop. 8, go to Massachusetts."

We're all blessed to live in a wonderful country where we can discuss and debate topics and have dissenting points of view. Many people died to give us these rights. Here's my response: If you don't like living in a place where we can discuss our differing opinions, move to another country.

Marriage discrimination isn't new. And the majority of Californians voted twice to ban same-sex marriage. However, just because the majority votes one way doesn't mean they're right.

In the 1930s, my greatgrandparents had to go to New Mexico to get married. My greatgrandfather was an immigrant from the Philippines and my great-grandmother was an "American"—it was the majority opinion that they shouldn't get married.

The majority was wrong.

Not long ago, blacks and whites couldn't get married. Again, this was the view of the majority, and again, they were wrong. Prop. 8 is no different.

The concept of "traditional marriage" is outlandish. Many are opposed because of their religious ties. I have the utmost respect for people of differing faiths and firmly believe that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and values, but when those values and beliefs affect others, it is an issueThere's often a blinding mentality of "The Bible says . . ." Luckily for us, we have a separation of church and state.

What the Bible says should have no bearing on governmenpolicy. Open your minds and your hearts and accept that everyone is equal. If one of your children were gay, wouldn't you want them in a happy, monogamous relationship with the one they love? When two people want to spend the rest of their lives togetherthat means something; and whether the couples are malefemale, femalefemale or malemale, love is universal and should be celebrated equally amongst everyone. Jonathan Serret Agoura Hills