Dear Editor:

I would like to respond to Ms. Linda Jaffe’s broad generalizations that she made about the gay community in her recent Letter to the Editor regarding her attendance to the Gay Mens Chorus holiday concert.

It seems as though she thinks that everyone that attended the concert was gay. She had a terrible experience, apparently because her two year old was being disruptive, so therefore all gay people have disdain for “breeders” (a term that I can’t believe she put in her letter, either trying to sound “hip”—which failed—or to further slight gay people by insinuating that we all call heterosexuals by that word). I saw the show this year, and was amazed at how diverse the audience was. There were young, old, gay, straight. So maybe it was one of your fellow “breeders” that gave you a nasty look, or disparaging comment.

The fact of the matter is this: That concert was not free, and if I pay to see a show, it is quite unsettling to deal with loud distractions during it. I cannot imagine you scooping up your daughter and retreating to the back if she was behaving. If I see a child not acting accordingly, and the parent does get up with the child, I don’t want them to stay in the auditorium, I want them to take the child OUT of the situation, lay down the law to them as a good parent should, and then go back inside and enjoy the show with an attitude-adjusted child. I know several gay people with children (it’s not just for breeders anymore) and I would be the first to lean over to my gay friend and say, “Girl, get that kid outta here!” I’m sure Ms. Jaffe already knows that we all say “Girl” at the first of every sentence.

Brian Wood

Dear Editor:

Perhaps Linda Jaffe jumped to the wrong conclusion when she experienced some negative vibes at the Gay Men’s Chorus performance in La Jolla. Young children can be a distraction at performances, and the comment she complained about may have had nothing to do with her self-described “breeder” status. Many in the LGBT community have children, in some cases biological children. As Pogo might have remarked: “we have looked for the breeders, and they are us.” I am a volunteer at the Center where the policy is clear about non-discrimination-how could we discriminate for goodness sakes? I think of the rainbow on the button that I wear as standing for all the diversity in our world. We certainly should be inclusive enough to include Ms. Jaffe and her child, particularly when a mother favors “tolerance, inclusiveness, pride and the arts.” I would like to believe that Ms Jaffe’s sexual orientation had no bearing on her perceived treatment at the holiday concert. We should have no tolerance for intolerance in our community.

Charlie Pratt

Dear Editor:

Brian Polejes, a supporter of John Edwards, appears to have adopted the same approach that many of Edwards’s California supporters have in discussing Senator Obama’s record on LGBT rights: attack, attack, attack. I continue to find this decision surprising, since Senator Obama’s record on LGBT equality and HIV/AIDS has been extraordinary throughout the course of his eleven years in public office. Rather than respond in kind, I will simply correct the record, as Mr. Polejes has made some errors.

First. Senator Obama has supported a complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act since he was a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2004. Indeed, Obama went out of his way to clarify the record on this point in February 2004, giving an interview to the Windy City Times in which he explained that he would vote to repeal DOMA if elected. Mr. Polejes is incorrect when he suggests otherwise.

Second. Senator Obama is a strong supporter of equal immigration rights for binational LGBT couples, as he made clear in his questionnaire response to the Human Rights Campaign last year. He has expressed legitimate concerns with the Uniting American Families Act, which he hopes to see improved. This is the normal manner in which the legislative process unfolds – even good bills sometimes require improvement. Senator Edwards, in contrast, voted against the Permanent Partners Act, the predecessor to the UAFA, when he was in the Senate.

Third. The continuing effort of Mr. Edwards’s supporters to gain some advantage from General Peter Pace’s antigay comments is just silly. When first asked about those comments, Senator Obama “immediately” said that General Pace should limit his public statements to matters of military policy, while Senator Edwards “immediately” said, “I don’t share that view.” Both of these reactions are critical, and both are more restrained than they might have been. For those interested in assessing the real depth of Senator Obama’s commitment to eradicating the military’s antigay policy, I recommend going to the LGBT section of www.barackobama.com (under the “People” menu), where the Senator sets forth the strongest and most informed statement on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell that anyone in this race has provided.

Finally, Mr. Polejes attempts once again to get as much mileage as possible out of the unfortunate events surrounding Donnie McClurkin’s appearance at an Obama concert last fall. The truth is that Senator Obama’s response to those events was inspiring. After taking responsibility for what he acknowledged was a mistake in not understanding sooner the views that McClurkin holds, Senator Obama used the event as an occasion for confronting the most difficult challenge that we face in seeking to promote LGBT rights in America today: the reality that a significant number of the people whom we need to include in any coalition for progressive change at the national level do not yet accept the principle of LGBT equality. Senator Obama is the only person in this race who has demonstrated the leadership and the moral courage to address that problem head on and to challenge skeptical and even hostile audiences to reexamine their homophobia and to find common ground with LGBT Americans. I am very proud to be a part of that unprecedented effort.

Tobias Barrington Wolff

Chair, National LGBT Policy Committee, Obama for America ’08

Dear Editor:

Barack Obama will be getting my vote in the primary election. Obama is the Democratic candidate that has the best chance of winning in November. The most important domestic issue is universal healthcare, in my opinion, and Obama will help bring this to reality if elected.

The gay and lesbian community is well aware of the great need not only for better health care in America, but also for the need for Democratic leadership in the White House

Dave Hall