Sen. John McCain’s recent comments on gay adoption created an uproar that some say was unfair and exaggerated. (Photo by Carolyn Kaster/AP)
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Friday, August 22, 2008
Re:
“Parsing
McCain
on
gay
adoption”
(op-ed
by
Dale
Carpenter,
Aug.
15)
It
is
really
irrelevant
what
Sen.
McCain
actually
thinks
about
gay
adoption.
The
point
is
that
in
a
national
forum
he
dismissed
gays
as
suitable
parents.
The
question
is,
why
would
he
do
that?
If
he
did
it
to
pander
to
religious
conservatives,
then
that
alone
should
cause
us
concern
about
his
suitability
to
govern
fairly
on
behalf
of
gay
Americans.
The
real
question
is
whether
or
not
in
his
effort
to
become
president,
McCain
is
willing
to
sell
his
soul
to
win.
Campaign
clarifications
aside,
McCain’s
positions
on
gay
issues
seem
to
change
with
the
wind.
He
opposed
the
federal
marriage
amendment,
but
supports
state
amendments.
He
opposes
adoption
of
children
by
gay
couples,
then
changes
his
mind.
Maybe
McCain’s
positions
change
so
often
because
he
can’t
remember
where
he
stands
on
issues.
It’s
not
politically
correct
to
talk
about,
but
age
brings
legitimate
health
concerns
and
if
McCain
is
suffering
from
a
short
or
faulty
memory
due
to
his
age,
then
American
voters
deserve
to
know
about
it.
Re:
“D.C.
clinic’s
HIV
case
numbers
surge”
(news,
Aug.
15)
In
no
way
do
I
mean
to
minimize
the
serious
HIV
infection
rate
in
D.C.,
but
wasn’t
2007
the
year
that
Whitman-Walker
Clinic
merged
with
and
absorbed
the
client
population
from
the
D.C.
Free
Clinic?
If
so,
might
the
jump
in
newly
diagnosed
cases
be
explained,
in
part,
by
this?
If
all
those
new
clients
were
tested
when
they
began
their
care
with
WWC,
wouldn’t
this
look
like
a
huge
increase?
It
seems
to
me
that
we
won’t
know
the
true
HIV
sero-prevalence
in
D.C.
until
name-based
reporting
has
been
around
for
several
years.
Could
it
be
that
many
of
the
new
HIV
cases
at
WWC
had
been
previously
reported
by
the
Free
Clinic
or
other
testing
agency,
but
were
reported
again
after
testing
positive
at
WWC?
This
is
disheartening
news
that
reminds
us
yet
again
the
fight
is
not
over.
How
sad
that
this
younger
generation
has
failed
to
learn
the
lesson
of
the
’80s.
Anyone
who
parties
in
D.C.
is
aware
that
the
HIV
infection
rate
is
sky-high.
Too
many
young
gay
men
don’t
get
tested
and
have
no
idea
they’re
infected.
They’re
ignorant
and
think
that
HIV
can
be
treated
like
diabetes.
We
need
a
massive
investment
in
educational
campaigns
to
teach
these
kids
the
facts.
Are
the
schools
not
teaching
that
unsafe
sex
=
HIV?
Where
is
the
school
system
in
the
equation?
Oh
right,
they
can’t
figure
out
how
to
keep
the
lights
and
air
conditioning
on,
let
alone
how
to
fight
HIV.
Re:
“More
gay
Clinton
backers
are
joining
Obama
team”
(news,
Aug.
15)
Good,
it’s
about
time
Hillary’s
gay
supporters
read
the
writing
on
the
wall
and
got
with
the
program.
I’m
a
former
Clinton
supporter
and
have
to
say
that
Obama’s
team
has
been
very
gracious
and
welcoming.
Hillary’s
fans
should
have
no
hesitation
in
supporting
the
next
president,
Barack
Obama.
I
think
Obama
should
be
president.
It
would
give
him
some
solid
experience
for
his
next
job.
Re:
“Attack
victim
cautions
int’l
travelers”
(washingtonblade.com,
Aug.
14)
He
went
to
a
backward,
Third
World
country
on
vacation
and
is
surprised
to
be
gay
bashed?
Gay
or
not,
places
like
Ecuador
are
no
place
for
an
American
to
vacation.
I’m
sorry
this
man
was
attacked
for
being
gay,
but
the
same
could
have
happened
walking
down
14th
Street
in
D.C.
Unfortunately,
crime
is
everywhere
and
anti-gay
bigots
are
everywhere.
We
can
never
be
too
careful.
He’s
right
to
urge
a
boycott
of
this
country.
It
sounds
like
the
police
ignored
the
problem
and
refused
to
help.
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