Homosexuals

The exact number of marchers at Sunday's gay rights rally in Washington, D.C., is still in dispute, but there is no disagreement about the message: Gays and lesbians are Americans, too. Few issues touch such deep emotions in American life, and many supporters of gay rights had worried that the occasion would give extremists an opportunity to steal the national spotlight and hand conservative anti-gay groups a propaganda bonanza.Indeed the march did have its share of bizarre characters. But any honest view of the gathering must take into account the diversity of the group, a diversity that makes it impossible to condemn or stigmatize homosexuals.

I have to disagree with Diane Brown ("Only closed minds stifle opposing viewpoints, May 16) on both her key points about Ben Carson's remarks on marriage equality and the opposition to him giving the commencement speech at Johns Hopkins University this year. At best, Ben Carson's remarks showed a breathtaking lack of understanding, and at worst, bigotry. When opponents of gay marriage mention pedophilia and bestiality in the same sentence as homosexuality, they know exactly what they are doing: they are illegitimizing and belittling homosexual love as being as perverted and deviant as the other practices.

Retired Maryland Episcopal Bishop A. Theodore Eastman is one of the signers of a statement presented at the Episcopalians' General Convention in Indianapolis which says that monogamous, committed relationships between homosexuals "are to be honored."Among the 52 other Episcopal bishops who signed the statement is Jane Holmes Dixon, suffragan -- or assistant -- bishop of the Washington diocese, which includes the four Maryland counties of Montgomery, Prince George's, Charles and St. Mary's.

Amid the unfolding jail scandal in Baltimore right now, there are two things relevant to the gay community that I want to bring up. I'm not sure if there are any connections between the two, or if one affects the other. But viewed together, they do present some interesting questions. First: Non-heterosexual inmates in jails and prisons across the country reported a far greater degree of sexual victimization in the last two years than their straight counterparts, according to a study released by the U.S. Department of Justice last week.

WASHINGTON -- Although the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff fea widespread disruption if homosexuals are allowed to serve openly in the military, evidence of such disruption is scarce in other nations' militaries and in other segments of U.S. society in which gays have been openly integrated.Without question, the U.S. military is a unique organization, making direct comparison with other institutions or settings inevitably imprecise. Nonetheless, other elements of society in the United States and abroad have confronted similar concerns in recent years as homosexuals entered various occupations and settings where they were previously shunned.

KEY WEST, Fla. -- A Florida law prohibiting homosexuals from adopting children has been ruled unconstitutional by a Monroe County judge.Key West resident Ed Seebol sued the state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services last year after he was barred from adopting a son because of the state law.Judge Ignatius Lester decided in Mr. Seebol's favor, ruling Friday that the statute violated Mr. Seebol's right to privacy and denied him equal protection under...

Tackling an issue that threatens to splinter many mainline Protestant churches in America, the chief legislative body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will decide this week on whether to ordain homosexuals in committed relationships and to continue allowing clergy to bless same-sex unions. Although embracing diversity has been a priority in the church in recent years, leaders say they will be more focused on preserving unity as they answer the question of whether homosexuality is a sin according to Scripture or a natural condition.

A House panel was asked yesterday to extend to homosexuals the civil rights protections granted to many minority groups.Gays, lesbians and members of their families recalled for the Commerce and Government Matters Committee examples of discrimination in the workplace, in housing and in health care. They asked the committee to support House Bill 213, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation."Enacting this legislation does not mean you're condoning homosexuality," said Del. Sheila E. Hixson, D-Montgomery, the bill's chief sponsor.

NEWTON, Mass. -- The common thread among all the states that prohibit or impede adoption by gays and lesbians is their stated desire to provide the best possible homes for children. It is not homophobia, they assert, to enact laws and policies that acknowledge the benefits of parenting by a married heterosexual couple. They invariably add, during legislative or courtroom debates if not in statutory language, that preventing homosexuals from adopting protects children from being negatively influenced or even physically harmed by the adults who are supposed to protect them.

WASHINGTON -- An internal Defense Department study has found that homosexuals do not pose a greater risk to national security than heterosexuals, a finding researchers say should call into question personnel policies that treat gays and lesbians as "a morally suspect class."The study, prepared by the Defense Personnel Security Research and Education Center, did not address the Pentagon's controversial policy prohibiting homosexuals from serving in the military, even though gay-rights advocates said the work would be valuable in their campaign to repeal the ban."

Dr. Benjamin Carson's remarks have been taken grossly out of context by critics who refuse to acknowledge that homosexuals, who cannot procreate, have no bona fide interest in the same government protected marriage rights and responsibilities that heterosexual couples are subject to ("Hopkins chides Carson for gay-marriage remarks," April 6). Unlike the growing number of bigots at Hopkins and elsewhere who denounce all non-supporters of same-sex marriage, Dr. Carson was in no way the least bit critical of homosexuality.

Over the past 103 years, America's churches have built the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) into the nation's most successful youth group - which makes it remarkable that the BSA stands ready to let gays join Scouting, thus publicly renouncing the wishes of some of its oldest and dearest friends. A proposal to let the local organizations that run Scout units decide whether to accept homosexual boys and leaders - to be voted on by the BSA board of directors this week - is monumental not only for Scouting but for what it says about the state of gay rights in America.

Dan Rodricks ("Same sex unions: What would Jesus do?" Oct. 25) ventured all over the map in trying to discredit the Christian view about homosexuality. First, he tried to imply that the Christian view is that homosexuals should be put to death. I don't know of any Christians who think homosexuals should be put to death. Although Dan was all over the map concerning Christianity, lets just stick to the subject, homosexuality and same-sex unions. I don't know of a single major religion that condones sexual relations between two men or two women.

A central message of those leading the campaign against Maryland's same-sex marriage law is that they are not opposed to gays and lesbians or to ensuring their civil rights. But that contention is undermined by the video of a town hall meeting at Manna Bible Baptist Church in Baltimore in which a Randallstown pastor quoted Scripture to say that homosexuality or even condoning homosexuality is "worthy of death. " He went on to say that those who vote for Question 6 are "approving these things that are worthy of death.

In response to the letter "Theology deflects from facts in debate over gay marriage" (Oct. 18): Be careful how we define theology. In the writer's letter, the impression is given that the theological argument against gay marriage is obscure and contestable. That may be so if the theology we follow is one developed by humans or self. However, nothing could be farther from the truth when our theology is based on the Biblical view as presented by the God of the Scriptures. It is neither obscure nor contestable but extremely clear.

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

The Canadian military has announced that homosexuals will no longer be prohibited from serving in the armed forces, raising speculation that the U.S. military will come under increasing pressure to drop its ban against gay men and lesbians.Yesterday's decision by Canada's Department of National Defense was prompted by a federal court ruling that its restriction against gays in the military violated Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, part of the nation's constitution.Although U.S. courts have largely upheld the U.S. Defense Department's ban on homosexuals, many gay and lesbian activists said they are encouraged by Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton's promise that, as president, he would rescind the prohibition by executive order.

WASHINGTON -- Risking their careers, five gay and lesbian members of the armed forces publicly disclosed their sexual orientation when they filed suit yesterday challenging a new Pentagon policy that automatically expels military personnel who disclose they are homosexuals.The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court here, comes as Congress is moving ahead to codify a policy changing the status of homosexuals in the military.It marks the first time that the policy drafted by President Clinton and agreed to by two key congressional committees is being challenged as unconstitutional.

In his letter of Sept. 27, Todd Reitzel bases his whole argument on the assumption that the words "eunuch" and "homosexual" are synonyms. These words are not and have never been synonyms. Treating them a such leads to a gross misinterpretation of Matthew's Gospel. Clearly, the ending of Matthew 19:12, "eunuchs who have made themselves so for the sake of the kingdom of heaven," does not mean that one should become homosexual in order to be saved. Charles Roswell Columbia

In criticizing Maya Thakar for quoting the Bible of out context, Thomas Cook Jr. gives an incomplete and, a growing number of Christians would say, inaccurate portrayal of biblical teaching ("People should not use Bible to justify gay marriage," Sept. 13). Jesus did not simply seek enforcement of Old Testament rules; he sought the demonstration of love in order to fulfill the law. Jesus actually did recognize homosexuality as bestowed by God in some cases (Matthew 19:12, "eunuchs ... born that way")