The author of the Nov. 5 letter “ ‘Don’t ask’ strikes a balance” attempts to justify his anti-gay stance by inferring that the gay struggle for equal rights is infringing on others’ rights. He states that, due to constitutionality, we shouldn’t have the gay lifestyle “forced upon us” and that “[w]e heterosexuals just want gays to respect our right not to accept that lifestyle in our lives.”

OK, first of all, how is the gay lifestyle infringing on others’ rights? I’ve never heard a gay person say, “Hey, you must enter the gay lifestyle and be like us in order to be treated with dignity and have legal rights of a marriage.” By using the letter writer’s logic, we should enact laws restricting his quoting of Scripture because it appalls me and infringes on my right not to have it presented to me.

He quotes Scripture as if somehow that is the deciding factor on how all laws should be based. I’m happy that’s not the case or we would still be stoning people to death for speaking against the church and many other ridiculous “infractions” of the Bible.

The final paragraph of his letter states in part that “what occurs in the bedroom should stay in the bedroom.” Correct! It’s nobody’s business what is going on in anyone’s bedroom. So, if he and many like-minded others would stop imagining what is going on in the bedrooms of gay couples, maybe their own inner fears would subside.

I had a bigoted view of gays when I was a lot younger, brought on by a hypocritical religion and Midwest social conservative upbringing. Thankfully I started maturing in my 30s and realized that other people’s lifestyles have nothing to do with how I live mine, and I have adopted a more accepting attitude toward all people. This is in part due to my belief that the God that I understand really doesn’t want me to sit in judgment of others’ lifestyles.

The letter writer and I do agree on one thing, though: Let’s get the government out of everybody’s bedrooms and repeal all laws affecting those chosen lifestyles.

Master Sgt. James Makela (retired)

Osan Air Base, South Korea

Think of what gays are denied

In response to the Nov. 5 letter “ ‘Don’t ask’ strikes a balance”: “Don’t ask, don’t tell” does not strike any kind of equal balance within the military. It only establishes a balance for those who are homophobic or who stigmatize the gay community. It basically forces gays to live a lie.

One could argue that those who serve in the armed forces don’t care to know what their comrades do in the bedroom. If that were so easy, then what about this: While attending military balls, don’t bring a date, come alone. While in uniform, have no contact with your partner at all; if you hug them and your battle buddies question you about it, say it’s just a relative or friend. Before you board a deployment flight, make no display of public affection. Don’t include your lover on family care plans or emergency notification lists. If your lover is hurt and you want to take emergency leave, lie and say that it’s a sibling, foster sibling or past legal guardian. Go alone during those military sponsored couples retreats or Family Readiness Group trips, unless you‘re bringing flesh-and-blood relatives.

Not that easy, is it? So is it really fair to homosexuals? Matthew 5:41 reads: “And whosoever compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.” Sounds like “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” to me.

Matthew 7:1 reads: “Judge not, that ye not be judged.” Luke 6:31 says: “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” So if everyone believes the Bible to be an absolute guide to morality, everyone in the military should hide who they are, and who they love, because that’s what is expected of homosexuals. If a homosexual makes an unwanted advance toward someone who doesn’t like it, it should be dealt with in the same manner as if a heterosexual had made an unwanted advance on someone.

On another note, people should learn to stop using the Bible to back up their distaste for homosexuality. What kind of God do we serve, anyway? He must be the world’s biggest voyeur because his word is dedicated to critiquing one’s sexual behavior nowadays. Or maybe my merciful God, who says we should love one another, is different from this voyeur one.

Spc. Deddrick Sims

Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan

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