Mr. Sulu. Set a course for marriage. Warp factor fabulous

With California's gay marriage ban over, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu, George Takei, and his longtime partner Brad Altman, are planning on getting married this fall. Mazel Tov and congratulations.

As a Star Trek fan, I've been a fan of Mr. Takei for quite a few years. More recently, I've been listening to him as a semi-regular on Howard Stern's Sirius radio show, where, as tends to happens on Stern's show, he has been quite descriptive about his relationship with his partner. Although he only publicly came out of the closet a few years ago, he had been quietly out and I had heard he was gay some years ago (when I first read the online article where he came out I thought to myself "I didn't realize he was out;" a few days later the news hit the mainstream media).

I'm sure many of us saw California's first marriage on the news the other night between elderly lesbian partners who finally wed after being together for 50 years. Cities didn't fall. The earth didn't open. The planets didn't spin away. Instead we saw a nice elderly couple, who liked like my mother's elderly female relatives, expressing their love to each other in what looked to be a very nice celebration of their union. Go figure.

Of course there were the protesters standing around the building complaining sodomy is sin, in which case I know many people who have sinned according to the protesters, and the elderly couple will be spending eternity in hell, ignoring whether the gay marriage partners actually believe in those particular religious views (as if that should matter in a secular government). Then there are those who say our country was founded on certain beliefs of the eighteenth century and those foundations should be followed. Well, the morals and ethics of our forefathers included owning slaves and killing native Americans, things I strongly doubt they would advocate today. Times change and so do thoughts. We're not static beings.

I always wonder about the hate these people must have in their hearts for them to take time out of their day to protest people who love each other from getting married. I think there a lot more important things wrong with this country, such as the way we treat our war wounded soldiers, or some activists shaking down corporations, that they could be protesting against. I for one, despise the hypocrits who say they are looking to protect my soul while they seek to harm those who are actually living on this earth.