Dear Editor:

I wonder if those who voted to ban gay marriages have ever considered that God may provide homosexuality as a viable, positive, non-violent option to control overpopulation.

Besides granting equal constitutional rights to gay and lesbian citizens, those who do not procreate children – for any reason – should be given tax credits and honored for not adding more children to an already over-polluted, over-populated world.

Gilbert Rubio

Dear Editor:

In our struggle to break down the prejudice behind Prop 8, we are confronting those who would deny our rights. In the long run, the most effective way to break down prejudice is for the oppressed group to socialize or recreate with the dominant group. My suggestion is equal rights through softball. Every gay or lesbian softball team must play at least one game outside the league. They should bring along their softball spouses, who will share the grandstands with the non-gay softball spouses. Losing teams buy the first round of drinks at the winning team’s bar. Non-gay teams who don’t accept the challenge are afraid of being beaten by a bunch of gays!

This will get us into the suburbs and change some attitudes. You don’t even have to be overtly political. Just have a good time with some different people.

Tom Thurston

Editor’s note: The following letter was sent to the KUSI news team, and to the editor of the Gay & Lesbian Times.

Dear KUSI news,

Although I don’t watch any one news program regularly, I’ve seen the KUSI team many times and have always liked them. On Saturday evening, I watched your coverage of the No on 8 rallies, where tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of people internationally stood up for their right to be treated equally.

Initially, I thought that, on a day with huge fires outside Los Angeles, it was pretty good that we got two full minutes of coverage in various cities. But then I kept watching. KUSI gave over THREE minutes to a conservative minister who did nothing on that day to give his side of the issue. He did not stage a protest that day. He did not file a lawsuit. He commented, in fact, that he’d spent the day at a ball game!

I understood on the days of the two Qualcomm and Hillcrest rallies that both stories warranted equal coverage, but how on earth did your two minutes of coverage of what thousands did in multiple cities warrant three minutes of undebated soapbox speaking from this man? The worst part was that it ended with him saying something like, “I’m yet to hear any good argument as to why we should allow gay marriage.” A hundred thousand people could have given a good answer to that, like the right to visit partners in hospitals, the right not to be separated from a life-partner with different citizenship, or equal social security benefits (to name JUST three), but instead he was eagerly thanked and the issue was left to rest there.

The two minutes given to the No on 8 side didn’t even include a KUSI interview with anyone on our side of the issue … it was mostly reporter comments over the footage. At best, it included a bit of rally speech but nothing as personal as that lengthy interview with our opponent.

One friend who watched your news said, “I didn’t realize KUSI was a Fox News affiliate.” To us, it was like going back to 1965 and seeing two minutes of coverage of a Martin Luther King rally followed by three minutes of interview with a white supremist.

If it was on purpose, shame on KUSI for being so biased.

And if it wasn’t, shame on KUSI for being so careless in your representation of what means so much to us.

Jake Mackey

Dear Editors:

I write in praise of Nicole Murray Ramirez’ great performance as Ringleader at The Center’s annual Nightmare on Normal Street.

Contrary to the opinions of a few who have written the GLT about the costume competition, I thought it was great. Those cute Dalmatian puppies with the evil Cruella DeVille, the Ambigously Gay Duo, those face-sucking Mormon missionaries, and more.

Nicole is first and foremost an entertainer. Like many American humorists from Mort Saul to Don Rickles and Robin Williams, there is often a bite to his act. That is what makes it fun, and it is why he commands a loyal crowd for decades (and decades, and…) Of course, comedy is always more fun when one is the not the target of the joke, so I can also feel empathy with those few who have written to complain. I say this as one who has felt the sting of Nicole’s rapier on many occasions: but fair is fair and as a member of the audience, I think Nicole did a dandy job.

A few facts to put into perspective:

Nicole donates all of his time and expense preparing and delivering the Nightmare experience without one cent of reimbursement. For years he has refused to accept payment so The Center can use more of the night’s receipts to fund community programs.

Only adults are now allowed inside Nightmare. This prevents problems with liquor service and obviously permits a bit more of “nightclub humor” than at a family affair.

It’s all in good fun. It is, after all, a Halloween celebration, not a political rally or a church service (no disrespect to the Sisters.)

Bob Nelson