Attack on gay rights is attack on us all
I wondered after reading Gregory Kane's column ("Gay rights law opponent says logic, not hate, is issue," Aug. 8), whether Mr. Kane has ever connected with the gay community. Has he ever spoken to anyone who was fired, refused hospital services, or thrown out of a restaurant simply because of his or her perceived sexual orientation?
Does Mr. Kane know that many gays laugh when the notion of "choice" is mentioned, for they have long known that their being gay is as much an inborn part of them as the color of their eyes or the shape of their nose?
Mr. [Tres] Kerns [head of TakeBackMaryland, a group that opposes the Gay Rights law] argues that sexual behavior is not a civil right, but that is not the point. Whether or not gays are financially secure is also irrelevant. Before the gay rights law passed, many Maryland residents were denied basic civil rights in three areas: employment, housing, and public accommodation. The gay rights law secures these rights for gay Marylanders.
All Maryland residents, gay and straight alike, deserve protections against discrimination. Would Mr. Kerns be portrayed as logical and levelheaded if he sought to retract the civil rights of Buddhists or African Americans or the physically challenged?
Linda Linton
Columbia
Co-Chair PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), Columbia/Howard County Chapter
