Shannon Metzler (Readers' Forum, Jan. 12) demands that people "not stand under a banner of religious righteousness" while denying same-sex marriages "the same rights afforded to others." I would like to explain why I oppose legalizing polygamous marriages: I think the government should encourage marriages in which a child has a father — not just a fraction of a father. I realize that many polygamous partners are fine people who undoubtedly love each other and that their marriages are better than many monogamous marriages. Similarly, for same-sex marriages.

Polygamists of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries never demanded that their marriages be legalized. They demand that they not be jailed and their children not be taken away because of their marriages. I wholeheartedly support these demands. The homosexual community has a persecution complex, which has served it well. A few years ago the New Jersey Supreme Court decided gay men had a constitutional right to be Boy Scoutmasters. Heterosexual men who would like to be Girl Scoutmasters need to get organized.

Robert Burton

Lindon