Don't deny some joy of life partner

In your editorial (May 11) on gay marriage, you seek to diminish the struggle for marriage equality by saying "... some want to equate one's sexual partner preference to the civil rights movement."

When I married my wife, I was not merely choosing a sexual partner, I was choosing a life partner. Marrying her was the most momentous decision of my adult life. Our life together has been the source of my greatest joy. It has changed me, made me a better person, and filled my days with love and laughter.

Why should anyone be denied similar joy simply because his or her choice of a life partner does not conform to your vision of what marriage should be? Decades ago, we as a society rejected similar bigotry when it was directed at interracial marriages. And yes, that was a direct outgrowth of the struggle for civil rights.

You may wish to diminish this debate to serve your editorial purposes, but this is about more than sex, or even marriage. This is a question of freedom, of human rights and personal happiness -- the very foundations of the constitutional system you often claim to revere.

DAVID B. COE, Sewanee, Tenn.

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Salute those who aid the uninsured

Thanks for your article (May 11) on the plight of the uninsured who encounter medical problems. This issue causes much personal and financial distress for families.

I was disappointed you didn't mention the community programs that provide access to care for the uninsured. Project Access has coordinated nearly $86 million of donated health care services to the working poor since April 2004. Eligible patients receive access to specialty care, medical testing, hospital and some rehabilitation services.

Our hospital partners also have indigent-care programs that provide discounted or even free care based on ability to pay and other factors.

Excellent primary care is available through the health department clinics, Erlanger's Southside/Dodson Avenue Health Centers, Memorial's NorthShore and Westside Health Centers, and Volunteers in Medicine. Each provides free or reduced-cost care based on ability to pay.

Through the Dispensary of Hope, low-income residents can access many of the maintenance medications they need for $45 a year.

Certainly, more help is needed, and some people do fall through the gaps in the safety net. But it is important to salute the clinics, hospitals, and more than 600 volunteer physicians who are answering the call to care for the uninsured.

RAE YOUNG BOND, Executive director, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society and Foundation and Project Access

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God is only one who can fix nation

Reading the headlines, we see trouble and heartache in America. It seems things are going from bad to worse.

This being an election year, Americans are hoping and praying for just the right person to be put into office who will make a real difference in our country. Man can't fix all that is going on in America. They can repair some of the problems for a time, but there is only one who can really bless America. That is God. God is America's foundation, and we need to turn back to Him. This must begin with us going before Almighty God, repenting, and praying for Him to pour out His Holy Spirit and send revival to our great nation.

Then, get involved. Pray for our country and leaders daily. Go to church. Find and participate in events like the One Cry Prayer Summit. Find active organizations that allow you to get involved and do a work for God. God made us to serve and worship Him.

James 2:26: "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

God bless you.

EVA MILLIGAN, Signal Mountain

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Democrats did the damage

It appears a letter writer on May 8 doesn't realize the Democrats controlled all three branches for two years of Obama's term. Does he realize the Democrats still control two of those branches?

Democrats who:

Destroyed the housing market, creating the 2008 recession.

Have made a mockery of our foreign policy.

Think that welfare helps the economy.

Think that you have to pass the bill to know what is in the bill.

An administration that has:

Spent us into oblivion; increasing the deficit more than all prior presidents before them, combined.

Increased the poverty rate to 46.2 million people; the highest number in 52 years.

Facilitated gas prices' rise from $1.82 to $3.60 by withholding drilling permits and canceling leases. The Obama administration has made what was once routine nearly impossible.

Helped unemployment go above 8 percent (real is over 14 percent), representing the longest sustained period of excessive joblessness since the Great Depression.

A recent Pew Research Center study found that Republicans are smarter than Democrats and Republicans give more for the poor.

I hope and pray a Republican does get the presidency and Senate so they can straighten this mess out.

MEGAN STEWART, Signal Mountain

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Officers' work is professional

On May 10 our house was burglarized. I want to thank both Officer Barry Hughes, who's also a Marine veteran, and Detective Phil Grubb, who's also a Gulf War veteran. They were both very caring and professional with their handling of the incident. I am eternally grateful and proud that we have such outstanding representation on our police force.

I also thank the officers who patrol our Walnut Street Bridge to make it safer for our citizens as well as the people who come to Chattanooga to visit. Keep up the good work.

MIKE F. McCOLL

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Postal Service sustains newspaper

I read with consternation the article in the May 9 issue of the Chattanooga newspaper concerning the editor's opinion of the state of the Postal Service.

Several questions come to mind:

Who transports the newspaper to areas outside the Chattanooga city area?

Who delivers these papers to the mailboxes of the customers of the newspaper?

Who receives a second-class postage rate to mail their newspapers instead of paying the first-class postage rate?

Who does the Internet endanger most, the newspaper or the Postal Service?

How many newspapers lately have gone under because of the Internet and services like Chattanoogan.com and CNN, etc.?

Whose jobs were listed by Xfinity as being in danger of disappearing?

Which service provides for more than 7.5 million jobs in the U.S.?

Which industry purchases billions in American-made goods and services?

Whose job may rely on the existence of the Postal Service?

Who is going to hire an out-of-work editor?

DUN B. MONROE, Signal Mountain

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Wamp is the one with fresh ideas

Because our nation now faces so many crises, we are surely at a crossroad. Which way will we choose?

When the Republican candidates for Congress who are willing, gather for debate, it will be good to hear proposals to provide leadership in beginning a proper process of real change.

Yes, I have a candidate and urge everyone to pay attention as Weston Wamp brings fresh ideas to the table. A few examples are attention to change in the tax code, deregulating energy exploration and eliminating pensions for new members of Congress.

Again, which road will we walk?

Let the conversation begin.

JOAN YOUNGBLOOD