I have been reading with interest the online discussion that has transpired around the Iowa State Daily article, “Gay right debate inspires discussion, no solutions” (Sept. 29). A point made by a blogger has particularly stuck out in my mind. Arguing against those who favor same-sex marriage rights, he asserts: “You DEMAND special rights. YOU [as a man] have the right to marry a woman and I don’t care if you want to or not, that’s not the point. You do not have the right to marry a person of the same gender as you, and neither does anyone else, so there is no special discrimination going on, whether you think there is or not.”

This blogger is showing a fundamental misunderstanding between the terms “equality” and “equity.” I like to use my friend Vernon Wall’s metaphor to differentiate between the terms: “Equality is providing everyone with a pair of shoes. Equity is providing everyone with a pair of shoes that fit.”

In his argument, the blogger is expressing the sentiment, to use a metaphor, that we all are being provided with a pair of shoes, and he is indeed correct. If you happen, for example, to wear a size 10 men’s or women’s shoe, and you are given a pair of size 10 shoes, all is possibly fine and fair if the shoes fit comfortably and you like the style and shade. However, how fine and fair is it for those who do not wear a size 10 shoe? Though we can equally try to fit into these shoes, when we attempt to walk, we either inadvertently step out of the shoes and possibly fall, or we develop bruised and battered feet.

As we can see, “equal” is certainly not always “equitable.” I hope, though, that we can work toward a society that can find a way to provide everyone with a great pair of shoes that fit.

Warren Blumenfeld

Associate Professor

Curriculum and instruction