The Gaytheist Agenda

Steve Anderson is an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist “pastor”. He runs a little “church” in a strip mall in Tempe, AZ. Andersons doesn’t have a college degree (they’re “unscriptural and wrong”) and in fact his only credentials are his claim that he’s “memorized over 100 chapters of the Bible”. Essentially he interprets the Bible as he chooses and has built his own faith and church from that.

Steve Anderson hates faggots. He hates people who don’t hate faggots as much as he does; as much as he believes God declared everyone should. He insists the only proper thing to do with faggots is to kill them. It’s what God demands, after all.

Here Steve rants and raves for over an hour about “queers, fags, Sodomites” and other things that cause him to foam at the mouth. I congratulate you if you have the stomach to watch it through to the end.

In one of his many essays, Steve gives his version of the “truth” about homosexuals. Did you know that Ham raped his father, Noah? Yeah, me neither. But according to Steve Anderson’s interpretation of the Bible it happened so it must be true. Of course the essay is also chock full of the “rape as a recruitment tool” lunacy that only the most demented of the RRRWers latch onto . It also has the more mainstream lie that all gay people molest children, though in a unique twist it purports that gay men molest both males and females. Yes, Steve is one of those who likes to push the “gays will screw anything” meme.

But wait–there’s more! Here’s Steve frothing at the mouth about gay people and calling for them to be put to death. He also states that he hates President Barack Obama and wants him to die, painfully.

 
Anderson and others like him have the ultimate scam going. They have no credentials and unlike with other fields they aren’t required to have any. They can just call themselves Pastor, Reverend, Guru or whatever, deem any little space a “church”–with all the associated tax exemptions and other perks–and start raking in the money. They can preach whatever absurdities and hatred they want, including advocating wholesale genocide of people they don’t like and calling for the death of elected officials, and claim it’s protected under their First Amendment right to practice their religion. When anybody dare utter a peep of protest they pull the religious persecution card. Regrettably I don’t imagine this will end any time soon as the United States refuses to knock religion off its pedestal and demand it be open to the same criticism and question as any other lifestyle choice.

 

People really make me sick.

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Abiazzizi I. Idris has been charged with second-degree attempted robbery and malicious harassment, the state’s hate crime statute, in the March 10 attack.

In court documents, police claim Idris was riding on a Metro coach near the 9000 block of Rainier Avenue South when he slapped the man in the back of the head. He then allegedly asked, using a slur, if he was homosexual.

What a great guy. Walking up unprovoked and slapping someone in the back of the head just because you think they’re gay.

The man disembarked the bus moments later, followed by Idris and an associate. Police say Idris again approached him, telling the man that homosexuality violates his religion.

Interesting how the homosexuality of a complete stranger violates Idris’ religion, but verbally and physically abusing the person doesn’t.

Confronted by Idris, the man again said he was not gay. Idris then, police assert, “grabbed the victim around his neck and said ‘Give me $10 and your cell phone and I’ll let you go.’”

Oh, so it seems Idris’ religion would be less offended by the alleged homosexual if Idris were given offering$$$. But that’s so typical. Gods and their intercessors have a long history of demanding offerings to be appeased.

 
Radical fundamentalist religion is a persistent threat to civilized society. It poisons people’s minds and causes them to commit depraved acts toward people for no legitimate reason whatsoever. Women and LGBT citizens are at particular risk when people rely on the ignorant ramblings of misogynistic Bronze-Age sheep herders for their “moral” guidance. It’s high time we kick it off its pedestal and knock it back where it belongs–the Dark Ages.

 

Of course there are the obvious ones that are inherent in the specific laws themselves. Legislation banning same-sex marriage prevents gay and lesbian couples from accessing the 1138 federal rights and hundreds of state rights that are automatically granted to married couples. Such laws also reduce same-sex couples and their families to second-class status. LGBT people have many other laws specifically against them and do not enjoy the same protections others do, mostly due to the efforts of the RRRW.

Just as insidious, and often more dangerous, is the way that anti-gay legislation gives to intolerant people implicit permission to engage in hate-crimes against LGBT people. We’re not protected, and we’re not considered worthy of protection, so we’re fair game. What’s more, in cases where such laws have recently been passed the trend is for hate-crimes against LGBT people to surge. Perhaps the bigots are trying to send us a message, like “Now shut the eff up about your rights and get back in the closet you *****”.

LBGT PEOPLE and their supporters, who have turned out in large numbers to protest the narrow passage of the anti-gay Proposition 8 in California, are turning their attention to increasing incidents of horrifying hate crimes.

On December 13, in the Bay Area city of Richmond, a lesbian woman was gang-raped by four men who used homophobic epithets as they violently assaulted her for almost an hour, before leaving her naked in the street.
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Activists note that anti-gay hate crimes are on the rise nationally. According to FBI statistics, hate crimes directed at people because of their sexual orientation have risen over the past two years–1,017 were reported in 2005, 1,195 in 2006 and 1,265 in 2007.

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Avy Skolnik, a coordinator with the New York-based National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, noted, “Anytime there is an anti-LGBT initiative, we tend to see spikes both in the numbers and the severity of attacks. People feel this extra entitlement to act out their prejudice.”

In 2008 alone, there was a spike in violent crime against LGBT people. Overall, the FBI reported a 1 percent decline in hate crimes in the U.S. last year–but a 6 percent increase in hate crimes against gay, lesbian and transgender people.
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In December, in Brooklyn, a 31-year-old Ecuadorian immigrant, Jose Sucuzhanay, was beaten with a baseball bat and kicked by three men, who jumped out of a car yelling anti-gay and anti-Hispanic slurs.

Angie Zapata, an 18-year-old transgender woman in Greeley, Colo., was found dead in her apartment on July 17. She had been beaten with fists and a fire extinguisher, after her assailant discovered she was biologically male.
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On January 6, 11 gay bars in Seattle received letters addressed to the “Owner/Manager” that warned, “Your establishment has been targeted. I have in my possession approximately 67 grams of ricin with which I will indiscriminately target at least five of your clients.” A 12th letter was sent to the alternative weekly, The Stranger, warning that the paper should be “prepared to announce the deaths of approximately 55 individuals.”
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Yet the RRRWers have been wringing their hands over how persecuted they are. Apparently people have been saying less than glowing things about some of them. That’s obviously much worse than what Zapata, Sucuzhanay, the lady in Richmond, and others endured. (Is the sarcasm emoticon really necessary here? )

SO WHY has there been such a spike in in violent crimes against LGBT people?

Society at large has moved in the direction of supporting LGBT rights, as ideas around sexuality have moved to the left in the past decade. One example of this is the fact that in 2004, the anti-gay Prop 22 in California won by a 14 point margin as opposed to the 4 percent margin of Prop 8.

However, as the trend of tolerance and acceptance has been increasing, so has the growth of right-wing religious organizations that have focused on getting anti-gay legislation passed across the U.S.

And the RRRW can’t stand the thought of losing their “right” to keep us mashed firmly under their boot heels. What’s more, if we could no longer be legally discriminated against the leaders of the RRRW would have to concoct a new “enemy” for their minions to engage in battle against. They have no identity unless they are God’s Christian Soldiers fighting some enemy. Should they lose us it would take great deals of money, time and effort to redirect their hatred to another target. It’s such a pity they can’t fight poverty, homelessness and hunger with the zeal they do our rights and our very existence.

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Prop 8 and similar legislation not only deny civil rights to gays and lesbians, but they give a green light to violent attacks against LGBT people. Anti-gay legislation gives credence to the idea that LGBT people are “immoral,” “unequal” and don’t deserve protection from hate. And the silence of politicians like Barack Obama on repealing DOMA gives a free pass to the homophobia expressed in legislation like Prop 8.
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Unfortunately Obama is, IMO, beyond hope. He’s apparently decided to throw LGBT people completely under the bus in favor of alliances with the RRRW. Essentially invisible token gestures and weak words on our behalf are useless and gain nothing.

 
The effects of anti-gay laws go well beyond laws themselves. They give carte blanche to bigots to keep being bigots and to harm LGBT people. They allow society to look the other way when law-abiding human beings are harmed, and their families are destroyed, simply because of who they are. It’s well beyond time we rid ourselves of them for the good of all.

 

That’s the simple yet critical lesson of this video . Please be warned that this piece contains some adult language and brief violence.

State Representative Monique Davis (D-Chicago), who previously engaged in a verbal attack against Atheist Rob Sherman, offered an apology on Wednesday.

Because of Davis’ rant, she was named Tuesday night as the “worst person in the world” –a dubious award doled out daily by news commentator Keith Olbermann on MSNBC’s “Countdown” program.

Rep. Davis told atheist Rob Sherman that, “What you have to spew and spread is dangerous” and that “This is the land of Lincoln where people believe in God.”

But, after being on the receiving end of a week’s worth of public criticism, Davis called Sherman yesterday to apologize.

Sherman says Davis told him she “took out her frustrations and emotions on me and that she shouldn’t have done that.” Sherman says Davis’ explanation was “reasonable” and that he forgives her.

According to Sherman and State Rep. Jack Franks….Davis claims her outburst was triggered by learning shortly beforehand…that there’d been another Chicago Public School student killed.

State Rep. Jack Franks was chairing the hearing that day and says Davis’ outburst was uncharacteristic, adding “she was having a bad day.”

That was very noble of Representative Davis. I’ll be dropping her a message to let her know how much I appreciate her action.

 

And I invite you to do the same, whether or not you are gay. Here’s the story from My Gayest Look :

The word from Leno: “In talking about Ryan’s first role, I realize that what I said came out wrong. I certainly didn’t mean any malice. I agree it was a dumb thing to say, and I apologize.”

Fantastic. That takes some guts. But will it last until the next easy assumption comes along?

Until then, we’ll hold Jay’s feet to the fire. Our response these past few days has been overwhelming, but we will post each and every pic that was submitted.

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So, back to the site:

On Thursday, March 20, 2008, Jay Leno welcomed as his guest on The Tonight Show the actor Ryan Phillippe, who, early in his career, played a gay character on the daily soap One Life to Live. During the interview, Leno hounded Phillippe, telling him to look into the camera, pretend it was his “gay lover…Billy Bob,” who “has just ridden in shirtless from Wyoming” (still milking the Brokeback jokes), and give it his “gayest look.”

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Jeff—who, in 2006, famously penned a letter to Jay Leno about his homophobic humor—completed another missive, in which he included a photographic sign-off (at left) of his “gayest look.” Melissa—who was similarly agitated in 2006—then offered up her “gayest look” (also at left), and soon her readers began to send in their gayest looks—and an avalanche began. Simultaneously, writer Dan Savage suggested to Jeff that he collect people’s “gayest looks,” and that, folks, is called synchronicity. Forces were joined.

And while we’re being a bit cheeky about all this, our message is dead serious: A 2005 study by GLSEN found that 90% of LGBTQ teens had been harassed or assaulted during the previous year. They were three times as likely as non-LGBTQ students to say that they do not feel safe at school and remain at increased risk for bullying, assault, and suicide. That doesn’t happen in a void. Gay jokes are not harmless; they contribute to a culture in which institutionalized homophobia has tragic consequences. We want Jay Leno to know that we, LGBTQ people and their allies, are not amused.

So now it’s your turn! Send us your “gayest look” for Jay
here .

And here is my Gayest Look for Jay Leno. I hope you’ll contribute yours, for it’s a very worthy cause.

A few weeks back I brought you the story of Thomas Beatie, a transgender man who is pregnant and carrying the child that his wife cannot. I’d been scoping RW sources expecting to see some sort of murmuring about the situation and was rather perplexed that I’d not found anything significant. I was particularly surprised that the usual suspects, the RRRW sources who make it their duty to fret over anything LGBTs do that is remotely connected with children or family building, were dead silent on the matter. But since Beatie was on Oprah yesterday there has been a secondary surge of chatter about him on the WWW, and finally some of the more antagonistic RW sites are talking about his story. One of the more repugnant sites, NewsBusters, chimed in and here is some of what they had to say:

 

On Friday’s “Good Morning America,” for the second day in a row, and the third time in a little over a week, the ABC program promoted the story of a transgendered man who is having a baby via artificial insemination. At no time did GMA feature any guest to challenge or question the psychological ramifications for a child who was born from a pregnant “father.”

During the April 4 segment on the subject, GMA guest news anchor David Muir described Thomas Beatie’s decision as “very controversial.” One would assume that a controversial decision would have two sides to it. But over the course of three segments, totaling ten minutes and 16 seconds, the closest the network program got was on April 3, when psychologist Jeffrey Gardere mildly advised, “It really is incumbent upon this individual, his wife, to try to give this as much dignity as possible, to not make it a joke, to not make it that something that’s cheap [sic].”

 
I was unaware that programs like Good Morning America were obligated to provide two sides to every story. Fox “News”, which claims to be Fair and Balanced, for example, only presents the Right Wing version of what they report. Interesting how the RW only cares about “balance” when they feel they’re not getting heard. If the opposite side is left out in the cold it’s just too bad.

 

On Friday’s program, reporter Andrea Canning played a clip from Beatie’s appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s daytime program and then approvingly described him as “the man the world has been waiting to meet.” While discussing the issue on March 26, co-host Chris Cuomo tentatively asked an obstetrician, who approved of the pregnancy, if there were any psychological implications for the child. After being told that only love was necessary, Cuomo quickly concurred and added, “It’s a good point to make, doctor. Oddity aside, biology aside, it is all about love of this child and as long as that’s present, everything else is really going to be normal.”

Finally, as the Culture and Media Institute’s Kristen Fyfe pointed out in an April 3 posting on the subject, GMA and other shows insist on referring to Beatie as a pregnant man. Of course, this ignores the fact that men simply do not give birth.

The child is going to have a father and a mother. Isn’t that what the RW hand-wringers keep insisting she simply must have to be psychologically healthy? I don’t see what all the fuss is about. And men can give birth if they are transgender men who have kept their female reproductive organs. Thomas Beatie is hard evidence of this.

Now let’s move on to some of the comments posted to the article, which are even more crude than the article itself. Brace yourself.

 

Sheesh!

This guy/gal is a freak! Why isn’t he/she portrayed as a freak!

This isn’t normal no matter how loving ABC wants to pretend it is.

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This whole sordid situation is clearly about one thing, $$$$$$$$$.

This strange (really STRANGE) couple doesn’t seem to care about the mental trauma they are inflicting on this child. Chances are good this kid will grow up with so many mental problems that could easily lead to suicide or mass murder, etc. Their supposed human desire to bear children is so much BS. Follow this case for the next 20 years and I’m sure you’ll see nothing but despair for this child.

Meanwhile these two losers will be reaping the ignobility they deserve, but hey, they’ll have lots of bucks to cover their shame.

Interesting how certain people, typically RW Christians, consider themselves the arbiters of “normal”, and worry about the trauma inflicted on the children of LGBT parents. What’s sadly ironic is how many of them have graced the pages of Conservative Babylon for heinous crimes against children and other things that would not be considered “normal” by any stretch of the imagination.

If this person still has a uertus …in my book that consitutes a …….FEMALE.

What is the deal …..it changed it’s name….is now legaly a man, so it’s gets pregnent and now is legealy a pregnent man.

it still has female parts that make it possible to have a baby…..so it still is a female even if it is SO menta;ly challanged that is thinks is a man.

I was a professional twice over - an analyst and a therapist. The world’s first analrapist

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First of all, This person is a Female. That’s how it works MSM. And you can say “Man is Pregnant” all day long, and twice on Sunday, but a Virgin Birth by a Man it is not.

It’s a Pregnant Woman - - Woman by Birth — and she may shave and had her Breast removed, but Woman by Birth cannot be Reported as “Man is Pregnant”.

The Public isn’t that Stupid. Evidently the MSM thinks we’re dumber than dirt.

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This is NOT a pregnant man!

This, is a pregnant WOMAN who thinks she is a man.

Holy crap! Give us all a break from these freeks.

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In other words, there is no such thing as a Christian. You guys are all just Atheists who think you’re Christians. After all, you were born Atheists, and if you were born that way no matter how much you think you’re Christians and proclaim yourself Christians, that doesn’t make you Christians. Dunking yourself in some water, wearing a cross around your neck and reading a book doesn’t change the basic fact that you were born an Atheist and will die an Atheist.

 

I feel for Thomas Beatie, I really do. He, his wife and his child will have an uphill battle all the way–not because of anything they’ve done but because of the hateful bigotries of others. There are far too many people who believe they have the right to decide what is right and wrong for everybody, and to make life a living hell for those who don’t comply with their narrow schema. That is very sad indeed.

As if she hadn’t already had enough free speech when she spewed homophobic hate speech against LGBTs during a political speech, then again when CWA gave her free airtime to do it again. She now apparently needs another platform to parade her hate because LGBT people have had the audacity to speak up in their own defense. Shame on them!

WASHINGTON, March 31 /Christian Newswire/ — On Wednesday, April 2, Concerned Women for America (CWA) will join over 50 pastors in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to rally support for State Representative Sally Kern (R-Oklahoma City) and her right to free speech. Recently, Rep. Kern has been under attack from radical homosexual activists and their followers over remarks she made regarding the homosexual agenda. Rep. Kern took a Biblical stand against homosexual activism and has refused to back down from her statements despite receiving death threats.

Event Details —

What: Free Speech Rally for State Representative Sally Kern

When: Wednesday, April 2; 12:00pm Noon

Where: Rotunda of the Oklahoma State Building; 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City Oklahoma

CWA applauds Rep. Kern for continuing to be steadfast and resolute in this fight against the homosexual agenda and for shedding light on the threat it poses to our nation. Rep. Kern has been quoted as saying that the homosexual agenda is dangerous “because it destroys the basic moral fiber of this nation, which is traditional marriage and the traditional family.” She couldn’t be more right.

Matt Barber, CWA’s Policy Director for Cultural Issues, said, “There are certainly those who hate Rep. Kern. They’ve made that perfectly clear with vicious personal attacks and even death threats. But millions of Americans proudly stand alongside Sally Kern and say, ‘Thank you. Thank you for boldly standing your ground and for unapologetically defending Biblical Truth.’ They intended to make an example of her. They have, but not in the way they had hoped. She has set an example for millions of believers around the world. Her courage and refusal to deviate from God’s unequivocal condemnation of sexual immorality is serving to galvanize and embolden others. People say, ‘Well Sally Kern wasn’t intimidated, why should I be?’”

CWA of Oklahoma State Director, Linda Caswell, said “Rep. Kern has exercised her right to free speech and has spoken boldly about the effects of homosexuality on our families and on our nation. We strongly encourage everyone to come to the rally and show your support for Rep. Kern. Let others know that we will not back down from taking a Biblical stand on the moral issues facing our state and our nation today.”

Biblical stand on the moral issues facing our nation? I don’t suppose that means that CWA is going to come out anytime soon with a plan to fight poverty. After all the Bible has more than 100 verses admonishing it’s readers to help the poor, so I’d think CWA would be aware of the moral issue of poverty in America. Then again, poverty has nothing to do with the genitals of other people and doesn’t involve hating others while feeling morally superior but rather actual work and sacrifice so it’s highly unlikely they do.

Nonetheless I notice time and time again how they’re always “speaking the Biblical truth” when they call us the most heinous and hateful names, spread outright lies about us, and call for us to be treated like second-class (or worse) citizens. But when we take them to task for what they’ve said and demand our rights we’re engaging in “hate-speech”. Maybe if we threw a few Bible verses in it would change things. How about I try that (it may work even for an atheist).

 
Deuteronomy 5:20 You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
1 Thessalonians 4:11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you.
Luke 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Matthew 23:13 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.
Luke 6:37 Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.

 

In closing, I myself would love to attend this “Free Speech Rally” to peacefully make my outrage known but I’m too far away. If anybody in the area is able to do so I’d love to hear about it.

Addendum. A comment has arrived. Ebon said:

“Radical homosexual activists”? Since when does not wanting to be slandered count as “radical”? It seems that too many theocrats forget that the right to freedom of speech includes the right to response.

Oh dear, perhaps you aren’t familiar with the terminology (wink, wink). Christians are speaking The Truth, the Word of God, the Gospel and the Biblical Truth (or some other such variation). Gays are Advancing The Homosexual Agenda. Any time gays ask for whatever everybody else has they are demanding “special rights”. Christians are protecting their way of life, the Traditional Family/Traditional Marriage/The Heartland etc and do so by Spreading the Gospel/Word of God. Gays are Militant Homosexuals trying to force their ways on others through Indoctrination and other scary-sounding things.

Isn’t it all becoming more clear now? By the way, if you want to read more Alvin McEwin explains the anti-gay liars in depth here and in his most excellent book. Thanks for your comment and continued patronage!

This Letter to the Editor by Sharon Underwood was originally printed in the Valley News (White River Junction, VT/Hanover, NH) in 2000. While the letter is nearly eight years old it’s impact has not lessened over time. It is so powerful on it’s own merits that I cannot add anything to it by way of commentary, so I will simply present it to you now.

Vermont debate brings out the haters
Sunday, April 30, 2000
By SHARON UNDERWOOD
For the Valley News

As the mother of a gay son, I’ve seen firsthand how cruel and misguided people can be.

Many letters have been sent to the Valley News concerning the homosexual menace in Vermont. I am the mother of a gay son and I’ve taken enough from you good people.

I’m tired of your foolish rhetoric about the “homosexual agenda” and your allegations that accepting homosexuality is the same thing as advocating sex with children. You are cruel and ignorant. You have been robbing me of the joys of motherhood ever since my children were tiny.

My firstborn son started suffering at the hands of the moral little thugs from your moral, upright families from the time he was in the first grade. He was physically and verbally abused from first grade straight through high school because he was perceived to be gay.

He never professed to be gay or had any association with anything gay, but he had the misfortune not to walk or have gestures like the other boys. He was called “fag” incessantly, starting when he was 6.

In high school, while your children were doing what kids that age should be doing, mine labored over a suicide note, drafting and redrafting it to be sure his family knew how much he loved them. My sobbing 17-year-old tore the heart out of me as he choked out that he just couldn’t bear to continue living any longer, that he didn’t want to be gay and that he couldn’t face a life with no dignity.

You have the audacity to talk about protecting families and children from the homosexual menace, while you yourselves tear apart families and drive children to despair. I don’t know why my son is gay, but I do know that God didn’t put him, and millions like him, on this Earth to give you someone to abuse. God gave you brains so that you could think, and it’s about time you started doing that.

No choice
At the core of all your misguided beliefs is the belief that this could never happen to you, that there is some kind of subculture out there that people have chosen to join. The fact is that if it can happen to my family, it can happen to yours, and you won’t get to choose. Whether it is genetic or whether something occurs during a critical time of fetal development, I don’t know. I can only tell you with an absolute certainty that it is inborn.

If you want to tout your own morality, you’d best come up with something more substantive than your heterosexuality. You did nothing to earn it; it was given to you. If you disagree, I would be interested in hearing your story, because my own heterosexuality was a blessing I received with no effort whatsoever on my part. It is so woven into the very soul of me that nothing could ever change it.

For those of you who reduce sexual orientation to a simple choice, a character issue, a bad habit or something that can be changed by a 10-step program, I’m puzzled. Are you saying that your own sexual orientation is nothing more than something you have chosen, that you could change it at will?

If that’s not the case, then why would you suggest that someone else can?

A popular theme in your letters is that Vermont has been infiltrated by outsiders. Both sides of my family have lived in Vermont for generations. I am heart and soul a Vermonter, so I’ll thank you to stop saying that you are speaking for “true Vermonters.”

Principles?
You invoke the memory of the brave people who have fought on the battlefield for this great country, saying that they didn’t give their lives so that the “homosexual agenda” could tear down the principles they died defending.

My 83-year-old father fought in some of the most horrific battles of World War II, was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart. He shakes his head in sadness at the life his grandson has had to live. He says he fought alongside homosexuals in those battles, that they did their part and bothered no one. One of his best friends in the service was gay, and he never knew it until the end, and when he did find out, it mattered not at all. That wasn’t the measure of the man.

You religious folk just can’t bear the thought that as my son emerges from the hell that was his childhood he might like to find a lifelong companion and have a measure of happiness. It offends your sensibilities that he should request the right to visit that companion in the hospital, to make medical decisions for him or to benefit from tax laws governing inheritance.

How dare he? you say. These outrageous requests would threaten the very existence of your family, would undermine the sanctity of marriage.

You use religion to abdicate your responsibility to be thinking human beings. There are vast numbers of religious people who find your attitudes repugnant. God is not for the privileged majority, and God knows my son has committed no sin.

The deep-thinking author of a letter to the April 12 Valley News who lectures about homosexual sin and tells us about “those of us who have been blessed with the benefits of a religious upbringing” asks: “What ever happened to the idea of striving . . . to be better human beings than we are?”

Indeed, sir, what ever happened to that?

(Sharon Underwood lives in White River Junction, Vt.)

The Southern Poverty Law Center is asking you to put yourself on the map as taking a stand against hate. There are currently 888 recognized hate groups in the US, an increase of 48% since 2000. The more we speak out, the greater our chances of putting a stop to them. I’m on the map. Will you join me?