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Friday, August 22, 2008
To
the
Editors:
Re: “Why
I’m
Running
for
D.C.
Council”
(op-ed
by
Patrick
Mara,
Aug.
15)
If
you
are
a
gay
Republican
in
the
District
of
Columbia
you
will
vote
for
Carol
Schwartz
on
Sept.
9
in
the
Republican
primary
because
you
know
she
has
been
a
solid
and
consistent
advocate
for
LGBT
equality
and
for
people
with
HIV/AIDS.
While
“change”
is
a
convenient
buzzword,
there
are
some
things
in
life
you
just
don’t
need
to
change,
like
your
partner,
family
and
close
friends
when
they
have
been
good
to
you.
And
Carol
has
been
very
good
to
us.
Republicans
need
to
come
out
and
show
their
support
for
her
on
Sept.
9
just
like
Carol
has
been
there
showing
her
support
for
us
in
the
Republican
Party,
in
the
U.S.
Congress
and
at
the
White
House
for
years.
Gay
Republicans
know
Carol
is
a
trailblazing
Republican
who
helped
gay
Republicans
become
a
voice
in
the
local
Republican
Party.
Despite
what
some
are
saying,
Carol
is
a
supporter
of
same-sex
marriage,
and
GLAA
rewarded
her
with
an
extremely
strong
+9
in
its
ratings
(compared
to
her
opponent’s
+2).
I
don’t
know
who
is
behind
the
more
than
$100,000
effort
to
defeat
Carol
in
the
Republican
primary,
but
I
know
it
is
not
local
Republicans.
They
are
special
interests
who
don’t
have
the
local
Republican
Party’s
best
interests
at
heart.
There
is
no
guarantee
that
a
Republican
has
to
hold
one
of
the
At-Large
Council
seats,
and
there
are
“independents”
and
others
vying
for
the
seat.
Carol
is
the
only
Republican
who
can
beat
them
and
win
in
a
District-wide
race.
So,
if
you
are
a
gay
D.C.
Republican
who
respects
honesty,
integrity,
commitment
and
action,
I
am
certain
you
will
vote
for
Carol
Schwartz
on
Sept.
9.
CARL
SCHMID
Washington
To
the
Editors:
Re:
“Raising
millions
of
future
allies”
(op-ed
by
Robert
A.
Bernstein,
Aug.
8)
One
of
the
biggest
pet
peeves
that
a
child
with
gay
parents
has
as
they
grow
up
is
the
label
of
ally.
Unlike
PFLAG
parents
such
as
Bob
Bernstein,
we
grew
up
in
the
gay
community.
An
ally
implies
that
we
are
not
part
of
the
community
and
that
we
don’t
benefit
from
the
actions
that
we
advocate
for
on
behalf
of
the
whole
family.
We,
as
kids
with
LGBT
parents,
are
a
unique
voice
in
the
queer
community.
While
often
silenced,
discounted
or
even
discouraged,
our
voice
has
proven
to
be
powerful
for
the
communities
to
which
we
belong.
When
we
push
for
same-sex
marriage
or
non-discrimination
we
are
not
doing
it
for
our
parents
—
we
are
doing
for
ourselves,
too.
We
benefit
more
as
kids
when
we
have
the
stigma
erased
and
our
families
held
to
a
more
equal
status.
I
hope
that
anyone
who
meets
a
person
with
LGBT
parents
will
realize
that
because
of
our
experience
we
have
powerful
place
in
the
queer
community
and
should
be
respected
as
part
of
the
community.
I
would
also
add
that
the
article
incorrectly
stated
that
I
have
a
gay
father,
when,
in
fact,
I
have
lesbian
moms
who
have
been
together
for
more
than
24
years.
RYAN
LaLONDE
Silver
Spring,
Md.
To
the
Editors:
Re:
“Bush
signs
sweeping
AIDS
bill”
(news,
July
30)
The
$48
billion
in
PEPFAR
funds
mostly
goes
to
countries
where
homosexuality
is
denied
and
persecuted
into
hiding.
But
in
the
United
States,
where
funds
for
HIV
prevention
have
been
cut,
men
having
unprotected
sex
with
men
is
still
acknowledged
as
the
main
route
of
transmission.
Fifty-seven
percent
of
the
56,300 people
in
the
U.S.
who
get
infected
with
HIV
each
year
involve
men
who
have
sex
with
men.
If
society
wants
gay
men
to
protect
their
health
and
to
be
socially
responsible,
society
has
to
teach
them
self-respect
and
grant
them
first-class
citizenship
with
equal
rights
under
the
law. Targeting
prevention
messages
to
high-risk
communities
won’t
do
this.
All
kids
need
to
grow
up
knowing
that
if
they
turn
out
to
be
gay,
it
won’t
prevent
them
from
being
valued,
contributing
members
of
society.
This
requires
participation
from
the
highest
levels
of
every
sector
of
society
—
the
president,
Congress,
schools,
churches,
sports
and
media.
All
parents
and
educators,
every
part
of
the
nurturing
village
must
create
a
supportive
environment
so
that
if
children
do
turn
out
to
be
gay
they
do
not
feel
cut
off
from
all
sources
of
social
support
and
feel
they
are
sick
and
evil.
Shame
and
self-loathing
do
not
encourage
safe
sex
among
gay
men
or
honesty
with
female
partners
about
same-sex
experiences.
RAYFORD
KYTLE
Washington
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