Letter: Rights of passage

The passage of the marriage equality bill through the New York state senate is a huge victory for gay rights and a significant step forward for the human race.

It is clear that most Americans are no longer prepared to have people told they have no right to partake in a basic human ritual on the basis of sexual orientation alone. One can only hope that it will hasten the arrival of that moment when this dispute - which seems jarringly ridiculous even today - will be relegated to the dustbin of history.

Perhaps one day children will be taught about it in school alongside slavery and the burning of witches to show how far America has progressed from barbarism.

I congratulate those gays who, through sheer force of will against truly unthinkable levels of hostility, have forced New York to recognise their fundamental humanity.

Rev Dr John Cameron

Howard Place

St Andrews, Fife