Gays And Lesbians

THE MATTER is one of fairness and justice: Everyone should be treated equally, regardless of race, age, gender -- or sexual orientation.Everyone should have the same right to apply for a job or to rent an apartment without fear of discrimination. Yet gays and lesbians do not have that right under Maryland law.A bill seeking to ban prejudicial treatment on the basis of sexual orientation is one of Gov. Parris N. Glendening's prime objectives in the legislative session.He has devoted more effort to passing this bill than any other.

When Maryland merchants talk about the recent legalization of same-sex marriage, they sometimes talk of broad, lofty themes: Equality. Justice. Civil rights. But there's another practical concept at work: Dollar signs. The financial motivation was on display Sunday at the second annual Gay and Lesbian Wedding Expo at the Tremont Suites Hotel & Grand Historic Venue in downtown Baltimore, where dozens of vendors competed for the attention of dozens of couples whose weddings now carry the official blessing of the state of Maryland.

As midshipmen, they led double lives, quietly endured anti-gay slurs, and feared discovery and expulsion. But yesterday, 31 gay and lesbian graduates of the Naval Academy asked to be recognized, filing a formal application with the college's alumni organization to start a national chapter for homosexual graduates. The request, delivered pointedly on Veterans Day, appears to be a first for a U.S. military academy. Although a West Point graduate has run an unofficial group for gay and lesbian service academy alumni for 12 years, never before have homosexuals sought official recognition from an academy alumni association, experts said.

Amid the cheers of President Barack Obama's victory rally in Chicago, Keesha Patterson reached into her bag for a tiny box, dropped to one knee, turned to her girlfriend of 11 years and told her, in front of everyone, how much she loved her and wanted to marry her. Word that Maryland's Question 6 had passed had just flashed on the screen, and Patterson, who grew up in Baltimore's McCulloh Homes and now lives in Prince George's County, knew the moment...

Sandra Suarez and her partner Aleksandra Wierzbicki had just a few requirements when selecting a destination for a romantic weekend getaway. They wanted a beach destination with great restaurants, a small town in which they could get to most places on foot, and they wanted to stay at a bed and breakfast -- preferably one "where they don't give you a hard time if you hold hands." And so, on a recent sunny weekend, the couple from Garfield, N.J., found themselves relaxing on the cozy porch of the Lord & Hamilton Seaside Inn in Rehoboth Beach, Del., sipping iced tea and looking out onto the nearby Atlantic Ocean.

On Oct. 2, two writers to The Sun published articles supporting their position against Question 6, the ballot measure dealing with same-sex marriage ("Catholic on marriage equality: Right sentiment, wrong conclusion" and "Opposing gay marriage: It's not about hate"). As someone who was educated for 16 years in Roman Catholic schools, I feel strongly that the very foundation of their arguments, the definition of traditional marriage, is a myth. First, traditionally marriage was not between one man and one woman.

I read Jeff Kanyar's letter "For same-sex unions" (Oct. 14) which argues that since the Catholic Church acknowledges gays and lesbians exist, that this "thereby freed them from the burden of sin. " Where did the Church say that their sin is "freed" because they are acknowledged? Will he also acknowledge that murderers exist? And does this free them from their crimes? Thomas Bateman, Lutherville

As the Baltimore City Council moves to deter attacks on gays and lesbians through a local hate-crimes law, a state delegate who sponsored Maryland's hate-crimes statute wants to expand the law to include sexual orientation.State law covers racial and ethnically based hate crimes.Del. Samuel I. Rosenberg, a Baltimore Democrat, said he is drafting a bill to be introduced in the General Assembly in January to amend the state law in the wake of Matthew Shepard's killing Oct. 12 in Laramie, Wyo. The university student, 21, was killed in part because he was gay.Since last week's incident, gays and lesbians across the country have been calling on local, state and federal lawmakers to draft measures to help deter attacks on people because of their sexual orientation.

One day after a decisive Senate vote, a House of Delegates committee swiftly approved yesterday a proposal to ban discrimination against gays and lesbians in Maryland. The House Judiciary Committee voted 13-8 to send the measure to the full House, where it is expected to be easily approved. The committee amended the bill to exactly match the version that cleared the Senate 34-12 Tuesday. "The fact is, if there is one case of discrimination that can be prevented or one case of discrimination that needs to be adjudicated, then we need to have the law in place," said Del. Kenneth C. Montague Jr., a Baltimore Democrat.

Gays and lesbians have experienced a drastic rise in acceptance over the past two decades, according to a new Los Angeles Times poll. Almost seven in 10 Americans know someone who is gay or lesbian and say they would not be troubled if their elementary school-age child had a homosexual teacher. Six in 10 say they are sympathetic to the gay community, displaying an increasing inclination to view same-sex issues through a prism of societal accommodation rather than moral condemnation. On questions ranging from job discrimination to adoption to whether homosexuality is morally wrong, responses indicate that as gays and lesbians have become more open, heterosexuals in return have become more open toward them.

As one who has been following the pros and cons of the gay marriage debate, one fact has gone unmentioned. There is no way to convince a person to be or not be homosexual; it is not a choice but the way one is born. For religious people, this means that gays and lesbians have been created by God to be who and what they are. Medical research has shown that gay people's brains are actually "wired" differently than those of heterosexuals. Why would anyone "chose" to be homosexual knowing that it would mean being shunned by a large segment of the population out of ignorance or hate?

Marriage, as it has existed for hundreds of years, goes far beyond the commitment of two individuals to each other. It is more about the formation of new families. The parents of marrying spouses eagerly look forward to the arrival of grandchildren after the marriage. The natural family unit has been, is, and will always be, a father (male), a mother (female) and a child. By themselves, gay and lesbian couples are by nature unable to create new human life. For this reason, gay and lesbian couples are not equal to heterosexual couples and their commitment should be recognized in a different legal institution.

More than 30 years of scientific research have shown that children do best when raised by two loving, committed parents, regardless of gender. This is the conclusion reached by a comprehensive review of virtually every study on the subject conducted by sociologists Judith Stacey and Tim Biblarz in 2010. Moreover, the so-called "studies" that claim that children of gay and lesbian parents fare worse than children of heterosexual couples have been exposed as deeply flawed by the Chronicle of Higher Education and The Baltimore Sun, among others.

I read Jeff Kanyar's letter "For same-sex unions" (Oct. 14) which argues that since the Catholic Church acknowledges gays and lesbians exist, that this "thereby freed them from the burden of sin. " Where did the Church say that their sin is "freed" because they are acknowledged? Will he also acknowledge that murderers exist? And does this free them from their crimes? Thomas Bateman, Lutherville

In response to Archbishop William E. Lori, Catholics like myself who support passage of Question 6 to legalize same-sex marriages in Maryland by no means disagree with the Book of Genesis and Jesus' words in the Gospel of Mark, which were read last Sunday in support of the Church's position that marriage is between a man and a woman ("Same-sex marriage foes argue case from the pulpit," Oct. 8). We simply believe application of this sacred truth must be expanded. As the Church itself acknowledges the existence of gays and lesbians and has thereby freed them of the burden of sin, so too the time has come to acknowledge that gays and lesbians can find partners with whom they can live a sacred life of love, and raise children together with love and compassion, fulfilling the call to live genuine Christian lives.

On Oct. 2, two writers to The Sun published articles supporting their position against Question 6, the ballot measure dealing with same-sex marriage ("Catholic on marriage equality: Right sentiment, wrong conclusion" and "Opposing gay marriage: It's not about hate"). As someone who was educated for 16 years in Roman Catholic schools, I feel strongly that the very foundation of their arguments, the definition of traditional marriage, is a myth. First, traditionally marriage was not between one man and one woman.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- In a sweeping attack on Pentagon efforts to ban gays and lesbians from the military, a federal judge in Sacramento has ruled that the controversial policy is unconstitutional because it is based on illegal prejudice.U.S. District Judge Milton L. Schwartz yesterday also ordered the Navy to reinstate Mel Dahl, an ex-sailor who sued after he was discharged in 1982 because he is gay."No governmental entity, even the military, can enact and enforce prejudicial policies without doing violence" to constitutional guarantees of equal protection of the laws, Judge Schwartz wrote in his opinion.

Baltimore County's Human Relations Commission made a compelling statement last week in recommending that the County Council amend a local anti-discrimination law to include sexual orientation as a protected category. Currently, the commission has the power to investigate claims of discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, age, color, creed, handicap or national origin. A change in the law to allow it to investigate discrimination complaints by gays and lesbians shouldn't require any great infusion of time or energy.

Gov. Martin O'Malley, who continues to campaign for same-sex marriage in advance of a likely referendum aimed at overturning the law he signed this month, will speak Friday at a conference in Baltimore for gay and lesbian Catholics. Also scheduled to appear at the conference organized by the Maryland-based New Ways Ministry are Barbara Johnson, who was denied Communion at her mother's funeral Mass in Gaithersburg last month because she is a lesbian; former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who has written a book critical of church involvement in politics; and Geoffery Robinson, a retired Catholic bishop from Australia.

For years, Akil Patterson wouldn't tell the world who he really was: a gay man playing Division I college football. His secret weighed on him, frightened him, confused him, taking on a life all its own. In lonely periods, the former University of Maryland player would go online and type in "gay," "athlete" and other keywords. And Patterson, an offensive and defensive lineman on former coach Ralph Friedgen's teams of 2001-03, would wonder: how many other Division I athletes are gay — and black — and feeling as isolated as he was?