Someday in the future, we'll look at this like we look at Jim Crow laws and denying women the right to vote.

I'm talking, of course, about the push to outlaw gay marriage -- a push that led the state Senate last night to approve a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban the practice.

It's rare that you will ever see me agreeing with state Sen. Vincent Fumo of Philadelphia. But he's absolutely correct when he ways "I don't know how it hurts your marriage ... if some gay couple in Philadelphia is living together. Mind your own business, stay out of the bedroom."

When government attempts to legislate the private practices of its citizens -- and I'm talking specifically about practices do not infringe on the rights of others -- it starts heading down a slippery slope.

It should be up to citizens to decide who they marry -- and to weigh the morality of their decisions on their own. If the decision to marry someone goes against your religious beliefs, you should be free to live with the choice. It's between you and your God. It's not between you and your government.

Even if you are not gay, banning gay marriage affects you because the logic behind the ban opens the door for the government to impose other limits on marriage. It limits your freedom -- even if you would never even remotely consider a same-sex relationship.

Banning gay marriage is as discriminatory as banning interracial marriage, or banning the marriage between a 60 year old and a 35 year old. It's an arbitrary decision.

If you believe your faith tells you it is wrong, don't do it.

But you shouldn't feel good about imposing your religious or personal beliefs on someone else.

Religious and personal freedom, after all, is guaranteed by the constitution. Using the constitution to take away some of those freedoms takes away from its power.