Campus reverends support LGBT rights

With due respect to our UA campus colleagues in the Christian faith, especially our friends at the St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center at the University of Arizona, we offer an alternative view to the one expressed in Friday’s “”Campus clergy support stance on gay marriage.”” While the students in the ministries we serve hold a variety of views on this subject, we are pastors who affirm and welcome LGBT couples, individuals and their families. We do this because our reading of the whole and heart of the Christian Scriptures, especially as seen in context and through the lens of God’s gospel and justice in Christ, compels us to this view. This leads us to pray and work for the day when LGBT persons will finally be able to enjoy fullness of life, including marriage and/or civil unions, with all the joys and responsibilities therein. We personally believe that the so-called “”Protect Marriage Arizona”” initiative is a bad idea. Thank you.

Rev. Ben Larson-Wolbrink,
Presbyterian Campus Ministry

Rev. Seth Polley,
Episcopal Campus Ministry

Rev. Ron Rude,
Lutheran Campus Ministry

Legislative internships an alternative to clerical work

In response to Lori Foley’s opinion of internships available to UA students (“”Asking more from internships””), I say she’s not really giving credit to the many valuable internships available throughout the colleges and departments of the university. Agriculture and corporate business are not the only areas of interest that UA students can get valuable internships. I, along with dozens of other UA students, am participating in an internship with the Arizona State Legislature. This internship affords me the opportunity to make direct contact with legislators, lobbyists, constituents, agencies, departments, committee members, Senate/House/Governor staff and beyond.

In my internship, I work for a staff member who assigns me to write fact sheets for legislation to be introduced into Committee, Caucus, the Floor of the Senate, then sent to the House of Representatives for the process over again, back to the Senate, and then, if it lives, on to the Governor with the possibility of being put into law. What more could a student with a propensity for politics or government want from an internship? There is no useless filing here; everything we interns handle is important to every person in the state of Arizona. This is the real deal.

The idea that interns are just milling around getting coffee or doing nothing of value may apply to the programs that Foley looked into, but not here – we are part of the process, almost as much as anyone else here. I am grateful that the UA sought me out based on my academic achievements and enlightened me of this outstanding opportunity. My only regret is that this internship has an end. The most valuable part of this experience is that I now know what I’m going to do with my career, and isn’t that what an internship is for?

Abortion stances contradictory

I am writing this letter in response to the recent letters about abortion to try to gain an understanding of “”pro-choice.”” Based on some of the views expressed over the last several days, to be pro-life also means to be anti-choice. Following this logic, to be pro-choice must mean to be anti-life. Since “”pro-lifers”” aren’t trying to revoke women’s rights to vote, and “”pro-choicers”” aren’t all committing suicide, there must be something more.

Being “”pro-life”” myself, it’s easy for me to understand what that term means. Life starts in the womb and an abortion terminates that life. This is reinforced by facts such as killing a pregnant woman is two counts of murder, and within five weeks the embryonic heart has developed and the central nervous system is developing. Therefore, to keep it simple, an embryo/fetus is alive and nobody should have the right to terminate that life.

“”Pro-choice”” is so much more complicated though. A criminal kills a fetus and it is murder, but a mother authorizes a doctor to do it and it is okay? That seems contradictory. Some would argue that it is okay because a woman has the right to make that choice concerning her body. But what if it is a female fetus? She doesn’t get a choice. Once again, contradictory. If you think about it, “”pro-life”” really is more pro-choice than “”pro-choice”” because it considers the rights and choices of everyone involved. There are other choices too, such as (in most cases) choosing to abstain, choosing to be sexually responsible, and choosing to deal with the responsibilities that come with certain choices.

I’m not trying to judge, offend, condemn, etc. If everyone in the world had the same opinions, only one person would really be necessary. I try to understand ideas that go against my own but, unfortunately in this case, they just doesn’t make any sense.