Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Homosexuality isn't a personal choice, but bigotry is

Re: Homosexuality is about morality, not civil rights or discrimination, letter by James M. Hammond of Dunedin, May 1.

-- The writer of the letter makes too many assumptions for my tastes.

The first is, he assumes that everyone shares his moral code. While I can certainly appreciate his strong ethics and his need to adhere to his own personal moral code, I do not appreciate his assumption that everyone else shares and wants to live by that same code.

If the writer has a moral problem with homosexuality and the attendant lifestyle, then by all means he should not be a homosexual. He should not seek to obtain a same-sex marriage, a civil union or attend a celebration of the lifestyle. That is his right, and I support this right. But who is he to enforce his moral code on others?

He also assumes that homosexuality is a "moral choice." Perhaps the writer is unaware of the facts of the matter: There is evidence that there is a biological difference in the brains of heterosexual and homosexual individuals. How is this a choice? Also, homosexual behavior exists in the animal kingdom. Animals are not capable of making sentient choices, so this would argue that homosexuality is a perfectly natural behavior.

I have a good friend who realized his orientation as a teenager. He was beaten by his father, rejected by his mother, ostracized by his friends, and discriminated against in his employment and housing. He tried to "cure" himself so he could once again be someone worthy of the love he once had. The "cure" was worse than the ailment and he ended up trying to take his own life - a scenario played out entirely too often in our society.

For someone to say that my friend "chose an immoral lifestyle" boggles the mind. What person in his right mind would choose to suffer such pain and rejection?

By the letter writer's own definition, bigotry arises from things that are beyond the recipient's control. It is becoming more and more evident that in the vast majority of people homosexuality is beyond their control. It simply exists as another facet of a personality. It simply is. Bigotry however, is a choice too easily made in fear and ignorance - something our society seems to encourage wholesale these days.

I personally find it much more "immoral" to attempt to write legal discrimination of any form into our state and nation's Constitution under the disguise of legislating morality. That is an obscenity beyond words.

Kudos to you, Dunedin Mayor Bob Hackworth.

Speaking of sins, what about hubris?

Re: Homosexuality is about morality, not civil rights or discrimination, letter by James M. Hammond of Dunedin, May 1.

I am sure the author of the letter feels very moral. I'm sure he must feel he is so much better than those of us whom he denigrates for thinking homosexuals are just another group of innocent people being scapegoated.

But I feel one of the greatest sins is hubris. That letter writer suffers from excessive bigotry. In the case of the Bible story, he would have thrown the first stone. How sad! I do feel sorry for those who cannot see the mote in their own eye.

Madison was right about minorities

Re: Homosexuality is about morality, not civil rights or discrimination, letter by James M. Hammond of Dunedin, May 1.

What fascinated me was the wonderful column about our Founding Fathers on the same page Monday (Power struggles show that our founders had right idea, guest column by Patricia Morgan, May 1). These men who fled religious persecution by the Church of England felt separation of church and state was essential for a free United States.

In that column was a quote from James Madison from the Federalist Papers: "It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part. Different interests necessarily exist in different classes of citizens. If a majority be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure."

Mr. Madison, on being asked, "What has been the fruit of religion?" responded in part, "ignorance in the laity, in superstition, bigotry and persecution." I fear Mr. Hammond's letter to the editor proves both points that Mr. Madison made.

I had a wonderful time at the Pride in Diversity event in Dunedin. I thank the Dunedin Blue Jays and Mayor Bob Hackworth for standing up for diversity. It is sad that in this day and age, I am lowered to discussing my natural sexual orientation due to the superstition, bigotry and persecution by today's fundamentalist Christians. What Bible literalists want to call immoral and illegal is not what city, county, state and federal laws call illegal. We do not need to be liberated from our sexual orientation any more than any heterosexual needs to be liberated from theirs.

The cities of Dunedin and Largo can do the right thing and enact a human rights ordinance. Doing nothing - the other choice - is the wrong thing and allows the Mr. Hammonds of our community to force their personal religious beliefs on all of us.

Letter writer got part of one line right

Well, James Hammond managed to get at least part of one line right in his letter of May 1. He was quite correct when he wrote, "it is an issue of right and wrong."

I am an elderly grandmother and former schoolteacher. Over the course of a long life, I have observed that homosexuality is a born-in condition, often noticeable in young children before they themselves have any awareness of sexuality.

The only "lifestyle choice" open to the homosexual is that of hiding in the closet or openly coming to terms with with his or her biological identity.

Bigotry, Mr. Hammond, is wrong. A smug, holi-er-than-thou attitude may not be wrong, but it certainly is disgusting.

Dunedin should be proud of leadership

Re: Homosexuality is about morality, not civil rights or discrimination, letter by James M. Hammond of Dunedin, May 1.

Mr. Hammond's mind will never be changed, and that's certainly his right. He can believe whatever he wants. However, to prevent others from enjoying the same rights that he has is blatantly bigoted and should be frightening to all of us. No one should be singled out for loss of inherent civil rights just because they love differently.

I would like to think that Mark Twain saying that it is "uncommon to find people with moral courage" meant that we need to stand up to bigotry and moral superiority and act accordingly, as the Dunedin mayor and City Commission have done. Dunedin should be proud of its leadership, and I hope that there are more people who will speak up and let the mayor know that what they are doing is the right thing to do.

[Last modified May 2, 2006, 02:39:18]