Dear Editor:

There’s no denying that John McCusker’s death at such a young age is tragic. But even more tragic was Mr. Johnson’s perspective on the cause.

Mr. Johnson states that “[John’s] struggle with drugs is not something his lover, friends, and family should feel shame over.” OK...let’s all rejoice at the toxic doses of methamphetamine and oxycodone found in his system at the time of his death.

Mr. Johnson also writes that “Stigma drives drug use underground and like HIV, it feeds the epidemic.” You win again, Mr. Johnson...let’s all sit on an outdoor patio at a restaurant and pass the crack pipe around over after-dinner coffee—what better way to round off a meal on a balmy summer evening?

Mr. Johnson concludes with “Talking about how John and others like him in our community have died from drug use and addiction will only honor his memory...” Death resulting from recreational drug use is not an honor, it’s a wake-up call and the gay community needs to stop hitting its collective “snooze” button.

I’m sorry that you lost a good friend/colleague/business associate. But don’t let your personal feeling for him cloud the real circumstances surrounding his death—glorifying it is no honor for anyone, living or dead!!!!

David Thaler

Dear Editor:

I am frightened at the thought of names-based HIV reporting. As someone who lives with HIV everyday, there are enough things I have to worry about and if this senate bill passes, I will have to worry about the confidentiality of this names-based list and the possibilities of the list getting out. In March, the Gay and Lesbian Times featured and article (March 3, 2005 Issue 897) where the County of West Palm Beach Florida had “mistakenly emailed to county health workers” a list of about 4,000 AIDS patients and 2,500 people with HIV. In a society where living with HIV/AIDS is like having the plague, if the names-based list was to get out, who knows where the list would end up and what might happen to those individuals on the list. I think the current reporting system is sufficient. I agree with West Hollywood Mayor John Duran in that if California adopts a names-based reporting system it will deter people to get tested. If the county can’t fix their current system how can we have faith that they will be able to run a new system? Save tax payer dollar, protect the privacy and confidentiality of California residents and fix the current system.

Jim Leckliter

Dear Editor:

As many people noted during the different meetings and events surrounding the passing of John McCusker, his family truly demonstrates the real meaning of “Family Values”. The family’s life-long support of their gay son is a wonderful display of unconditional love. What many didn’t get to see is that his partner Dave Trick’s family is equally supportive of their son. In an amazing showing of family support and love, Dave’s mother Kathy, and two brothers (Jeremy and Jeff) traveled from Michigan to California to be with Dave in his time of need. Leaving work and projects behind, they came because they wanted to be here for Dave. His father Jim was on the second day of a 10 cruise in the Caribbean when Dave’s brother phoned with the news. After calling Dave from the ship, Jim got off his cruise at the next port (St. Crox), flew to San Juan, than to Dallas and finally San Diego to be here to support his son (there were no easy flights to San Diego, but the decision to be here was easy). Leaving friends on board he did something few fathers would do – he knew his son needed him. In our GLBT community, where we struggle to get people, sometimes even our own families, to recognize our relationships, this extent of family support is a rare and a true demonstration of unconditional love. That’s what “Family Values” are about. I know our community joins me in saluting Dave’s family and John’s for giving our community true role models of what a loving supportive family is all about. How fortunate John was, and how fortunate Dave is to be able to share their lives with such incredible families. How fortunate for all of us that families like that exist.

Ron Ferrero

Dear Editor,

I have to say that I was completely appalled when I was shown your April fools edition of your paper and in particular the article about Mueller College. I am a student there and this is something that we Massage Therapists who pay really good money to go to school have fought all of the way to over come. I would have expected so much more from a publication representing people who too have had to do a lot of overcoming of obstacles. I believe that even though it was stated it was an April Fools joke that you have done your paper and millions of your readers a huge dis-service. You have taken many steps backwards, in fact, probably seeming like a gallop backwards. I am all for people living the life they choose, I am however not at all for poking fun at anyone at this kind of cost, at any cost for that matter. I am extremely offended that you would imply that I pay over $12,000.00 to learn how to do what you mentioned in your article. There are no take backs in Karma! Happy not to be in your shoes!

Kendra j. Karmick

Dear Editor:

As the community mourns the loss of one of our own, to what degree should the truth be told with regards to how any of us conduct our personal lives. It is no secret and recent articles in many of Southern Cals papers have discussed the rampant use of “illegal” drugs in our clubs and circuit events around the nation. Am I to assume that this kind of behavior is not worthy of exposure? Do our lives revolve only around the good we do from 9-5 and what we do in our off time regardless of whether it is legal or not should not be discussed. I don’t suspect all the facts have been presented but I can certainly react to discussions amongst people who were in attendance at the gay ski week and the illegal drug activity going on. It is also no secret what goes on at many clubs in SD and the kind of people who frequent them. I think it is time our community steps back and takes a serious look at what goes on in our community and have the guts to be honest about some of the social ills that plague us and work towards correcting them so more tragedies don’t happen.

Pierce Blake

Dear Editor:

I am writing about Bishop Brom’s refusal to bury John McCusker. I grew up Catholic. I still love my church, but I despise its corrupt hierarchy, which has caused me to leave the Church for good. The Church’s current inquisition against gays and lesbians, among others, might not be as violent as its past inquisitions, but it is just as wicked and shameful.

This is the same Church with a notorious decades-long criminal problem of sexual abuse of boys, documented cover-ups, and the rotation of these pedophile priests from parish to parish where they could commit their crimes again and again.

This is the same Diocese where just last week a Diocesan priest under the supervision of Bishop Brom, Fr. Gary Michael Holtey of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church and Academy in Point Loma, was sentenced very leniently to probation for possession of child pornography.

This is the same city where the notorious child-rapist Paul Shanley, a defrocked priest central to the Boston abuse cases, lived amidst our community before becoming a fugitive when the charges against him became public. After finally being arrested here, he was tried and convicted in Boston before finally being sentenced to 12-15 years in prison.

What would Jesus do? Bishop Brom should read what he said in Matthew 18:2-7.

Now, in the Church’s scandal of the week, the Diocese cites a rumor that a pornographic video might have been filmed in the venue of the business (Club Montage) the deceased owned as the specific reason for denying the funeral to gay businessman John McCusker this week in San Diego, thereby placing this man among the ranks of notorious criminals such as John Gotti and Paul Castellano. I can’t help but wonder how the Bishop came to know about the video…can you?

Bishop Brom, what would Jesus do? There’s a parallel in John 8:3-11.

The Catholic Church cannot seem to help itself stay out of scandal. It has lost its moral foundation. The Church’s current inquisition against our community, among others, is wicked, shameful and incompatible with Scripture. The problem in all of these cases is with the corrupt hierarchy of a Church that has increasingly exposed itself as rotten to the core.

What would Jesus do? Perhaps the Bishop should see for himself in Luke 6:43-49.

We in the GLBT community understand a thing or two about what it is like to be judged by these holier-than-thou types who seek to shame us by Bible-thumping us into submission to their way of life. They seek to judge us by their own marginal interpretation of morality, using selected Biblical verses to justify their tyranny. They try to withhold from us the fellowship and nurturing of the Christian community as they stare down their cold pointed fingers at our supposed wrong doings.

What would Jesus do? Perhaps the Bishop should read what he said in Matthew 7:1-5.

I express my condolences to the family and friends of John McCusker, especially his lover and his parents who have been so hurt by his loss, and harmed greater still by the Church’s lack of compassion for them in their time of greatest need.

Kenneth Landes

Dear Editor:

So now we find out that while our two-faced bishop was busy apologizing to the McCusker family, he was also calling some local Catholic Nazi’s (like James Hartline) to discount the apology. Hartline later played the answering machine tape to the press.

For this reason the next time Bishop Brom shows up at Club Montage with one of his former altar boys, he should be turned away. If we can’t have our funerals at the church, then he can do his clubbing elsewhere!

Carson McGregor