WaPo (Washington Post) Letters to the Editor, Oct. 16, 2019.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has had her “basket of deplorables” moment. Her response to how she would respond to someone whose faith teaches him that marriage is between one man and one woman was not clever but rude, condescending and dismissive.*

Her answer was especially disappointing considering that there is a very sensible response to that question.

Marriage is primarily a civil function, a legal agreement between two adults conferring certain rights and obligations between the two of them and certain rights and obligations between them as a couple and society.

Any religious ceremony is optional and, in itself, does not make a legal marriage — you still need that license from City Hall.

Churches have every right to decide who may marry under their auspices; they do not have the right to decide who may marry in a civil ceremony.

The irony is that long before same-sex marriage was legalized, there were plenty of religious leaders happy to preside over same-sex unions. These marriages had no legal standing but had all the spiritual standing of any other religious ceremony. It may not be too late for Ms. Warren to reconsider her thoughts on this matter.

Dan O'Day, Alexandria

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* "When asked how she would respond to a man who thought marriage should be between one man and one woman, Ms. Warren’s answer, as it pertains to marriage, was interesting. She said she would tell the male questioner to marry a woman, if he could find one."