ŒfSBtL 1 o u t
Country isn't free
To the E ditor :
he United States, 1 think, has turned sour.
The Constitution has become meaningless.
There's a song that says, “We are living in
wartime," and this is too true. We have the war
on Iraq, and we have the war on freeing gay
rights. I am no longer proud to he an American
because the country is no longer free.
Being gay, as 1 am, it is very difficult to walk
down the street and wonder who’s going to
make an offending comment about gays. Do 1
not have the freedom to love who 1 care to love?
There's a question that 1 am going to ask the
community: What are the differences between
straight people and gay people? There is only
one difference that separates homosexuals and
heterosexuals: who we partner with. That is the
only difference.
Gays take showers and pay bills and shop just L orelei M ackenzie
like the rest of the community. Shouldn’t the Manalapan, N .J.
gay community have the same rights as every
one else in this “free” country? No one in this
country is free anymore. It is not just the presi
dent who has taken my freedom away. It’s the
Now that
conservative Christians, the police, it’s your
President
neighbor next dtx>r who has that Yes on 36 sign |
Bush has lost the support of Log
in his or her yard.
When it comes to the gay issue, what is the first Cabin Republicans, do you feel he
thing that comes to mind? AIDS? Here’s some will learn a valuable lesson about
thing that might surprise you: AIDS expkxied in
Africa. And guess what? It started with heterosex remaining loyal to his queer support-
uals, not gays. So that would he an invalid excuse. ers, or will this give the QOP license
It’s simply because of the sex issue.
to become even more anti-gay?
I don’t criticize my straight friends when they
go to the bedr(x>m. So don’t criticize me when I
here’s a lesson to be learned, hut it’s not
go to bed with whomever I care about. All I am
Bush’s to leam. Gay Republicans need to
saying to the community and the country is this: wise up and rethink their loyalty to a party that
America is no longer safe for the people to live is actively hostile to our civil equality. The
peacefully. If we the people don’t stop the hate, wealthy upper-crust queens need to trade their
our country is going to slowly destroy itself one tax-cutting stinginess for a more evolved social
issue at a time.
consciousness.
Don’t hate us because we give and receive
love from those of the same sex. Get to know us, D a v i d D e y o
and then make your judgments.
Beaverton
T
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level as everyone else, as have many states.
I propose it’s high rime that something is
done, besides protest, to show America how
important we truly are to the economy. I frequent
the America Online same-sex marriage debate
hoards, and what some people on there have sug
gested could really prove something to the presi
dent and America. If all gay people, before using
their money, put a pink slash in the comer of
every hill they own, it would prove how much w’e
truly matter, not just as people, hut to the econo
my (which seems to matter most around here,
anyway). This may sound idealistic to some, but
if we put the message out that this is happening,
it would he realized that we are not just a mean
ingless 10 percent of the population like so many
claim us to he. 1 hope you print this as soon as
possible, so this could start being done on a
national level.
HRC should take a stand
To the E ditor :
he Sept. 5 issue and the Sept. 19 I“Stand
Up for America”] issue had items about
Margaret Cho being “uninvited” to the Democ-
ratic National Convention by the Human
Rights Campaign, in order to avoid a “potential
media firestorm.” I think it is high time there
was a media firestorm.
I, for one, am sick to death of “turning the
other cheek” to not upset the opposition. They
don’t think twice about upsetting any of us with
their constant anti-gay attacks. It is time we stop
cowering in the comer and let ourselves he
heard loudly and clearly. The terminally politi
cally correct Human Rights Campaign will
never receive another dime from me until it
starts to take bold stands about the issues that
are paramount to this community.
T
J im G ianakis
Portland
Queers contribute
to economy
To the E ditor :
i
n the recent months (or maybe not so recent)
our “president,” George “Dubya” Bush, has
acted like everyone from the queer community
is of no importance to him, or to America. He
has repeatedly smashed our attempts to try and
gain equal rights and he citizens on the same
eorge Bash couldn’t care less about the loss
of support of Log Cabin Republicans. He
may, in fact, be relieved not to have any queer
supporters. (How could he become more anti
gay???) I think their decision is commendable,
although I always thought that a gay Republican
was an oxymoron.
I hope that Log Cabin will throw its support
behind Kerry/Edwards and bring an end to this
disgraceful, illegitimate Bush regime.
G
C
arol
M
eyer
Minneapolis
■ e x tlP H T r a E S r
Swaggart said during a worship
service that he’d kill any gay man
who looked at him uand tell Qod he
died. ” He apologized after getting
complaints from several queer
groups, saying the remark wasn’t
meant to harm anyone. Did the
mainstream media do a thorough
job covering these events, or were
they downplayed? (Please see relat
ed item on Page 20.) Respond at
wwiv.justout.com. (Don’t forget to
include your name, city and day
time telephone number.)