The author of the March 15 letter "It’s not prejudice" clearly does not know the meaning of prejudice: "a preconceived judgment or opinion," according to Merriam Webster’s Online Dictionary. His letter was entirely prejudicial. He equated homosexuality to a list of punishable offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice: thievery, lying and prostitution, to name a few. He then exposed the source of his prejudice, his faith. He explained his belief that homosexuality is a choice. If he had done any research on the matter (like typing "gender" or "sexuality" into a search engine) and kept an open mind, he might not be so quick to make a prejudicial judgment.

The author talks about the freedoms afforded us by our Founding Fathers. Thank goodness one of the main reasons for forming our country and creating those rights found in the Bill of Rights was to prevent unjust religious persecution, the likes of which the letter writer is attempting to condone. I find it interesting that our government does not share the same opinion as the author, that homosexuality is much like the criminal acts he mentions; otherwise, it would seem that homosexuality would be a punishable offense under the UCMJ, which it is not.

Prejudice in and of itself is unavoidable because our entire life is spent developing ideas about the world around us. In order to simplify choices, we develop prejudices. Someone who grows up never having eaten meat or swum in water will be prejudicial. It is a safety mechanism. It is those who have the courage to question those prejudices and try new things who become the better person. People with this courage are the ones who have helped to make our country strong.

Chief Warrant Officer 3David T. WoodwardCamp Buehring, Iraq