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The author of the Dec. 16 letter “Won’t choose to ‘deal with it’ ” continues the bizarre tradition of certain Christian groups that try to portray themselves as victims because they aren’t allowed to force their religion onto other people.

The author complains that homosexuals will be allowed to serve openly in the military, but yet Christians like the letter writer aren’t allowed to follow their religion openly in the military. That is complete nonsense: Christians have always been allowed to serve openly. No one has ever been kicked out of the U.S. armed forces just for being a Christian.

But serving openly isn’t enough for the letter writer. He also wants the right to push his beliefs onto his coworkers. Allowing homosexuals to serve openly isn’t the same as giving them the right to sexually harass their coworkers. Denying the letter writer the right to religiously harass his coworkers isn’t the same as preventing him from serving openly as a Christian.

David King

Stuttgart, Germany

Witnessing isn’t right reaction

Regarding the Dec. 16 letter “Won’t choose to ‘deal with it’ ”: First, no one is holding a gun to anyone’s head and forcing them to engage in a homosexual act. They’re merely being asked to serve with those with whom they’ve already served, but are now openly gay.

The letter writer went on to say he or she will continue to proselytize, and his or her chain of command can deal with it. It would be one thing to have fellowship among peers, but someone with command influence doesn’t need to be preaching. It creates a hostile environment for those of another faith or no faith at all.

Furthermore, I don’t want any “good news” or “witness”; also, it’s a little nonsensical to pretend to be a martyr for the Christian faith. People of this faith have been in charge for nearly two millennia, all while holding a pretty sizable chunk of the population.

I try to not get angry, but there is a small percent of extremists in every religion. Not every person of faith is bad, but a few bad apples really sour the taste. Maybe if [some of them] had a few homosexual friends, they would learn that they’re not all bad either.

Staff Sgt. Mathew Tolbert

Forward Operating Base Fenty, Afghanistan

Remember to follow the oath

A small message to those who serve in the U.S. military who are opposed to gays openly serving: Don’t forget that you’ve taken an oath that states something along the lines of “I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”

It seems that everyone who is bickering about the issue at hand has forgotten this oath and feels that the military needs to adhere to their own preferences of not wanting working alongside a homosexual. To those who quote the Bible and use this as an example against gays, the oath that you took says nothing of following rules of the Bible. If you are unhappy with these decisions that are being made by the president, Congress, etc., I’m sure there are places of work available in the civilian world that don’t allow homosexuals within their work force.

Marcus Williams

Camp Liberty, Iraq

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