I have to wonder what Michelle Lamont means when she says that “marriage was originally a Biblical tradition” (“Family matters,” Oct. 28). To claim that somehow marriage is derived solely from Judeo-Christian principles is blatantly false and ignores the traditions of marriage from pre-Biblical societies as well as the independent marriage traditions of all other cultures including many Asian and Native American societies.
Marriage is not a religious rite demonstrating the love between two people, nor is its sole purpose to create a union for procreation. Fundamentally, it is a legal contract carrying with it specific rights bestowed upon a relationship by a society. These rights in our society include, among hundreds of others, inheritance, visitation, and divorce rights.
Civil unions as currently stated are not sufficient to bestow these rights upon homosexual couples, primarily because they are often not legally recognized inter-state. The simplest, and most just, way of changing this unconstitutional practice is through allowing same-sex couples to marry, and be granted the same legal status as heterosexual couples.
Kevin Welch
GSAS 2007
Read More
A statement by 211 concerned faculty on the presidential and provost search committees
By Concerned Faculty | October 4, 2025As members of the faculty, we remind the Board that, at the end of the day, an academic community is an exercise in shared governance for the good of the whole.
LETTER: Embrace medicinal herb gardens on Grounds
By Jane Mattimoe | October 2, 2025I do love the gardens around the Lawn, which feature small smatterings of herbs, but something more extensive and scientific would be of great benefit to Grounds.
Letters to the Editor: The resignation of University President Jim Ryan
July 23, 2025Following this resignation, The Cavalier Daily has received letters from the University community which provide various perspectives on what this moment means to them and to the University’s future.
