Dear Editor:

While attending the anti-Schwarzenegger protest outside the 4th & B Theatre on Friday, Sept. 16, a number of us watched as lesbian District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis entered the invitation-only pro-Arnold gathering.

I suppose it’s possible Ms. Dumanis was taking the opportunity of being on the inside of this hardcore Republican gathering to share her outrage with the governor about his intentions to veto the Marriage Equality bill. Maybe, as a high-profile Republican elected official, she was given enough of his time to talk to him about how such a veto would deny her and her partner equal rights.

I’m doubtful that was the case.

I look forward to hearing that Ms. Dumanis was there to speak up for LGBT rights and wasn’t there as just another suck-up politician who brushes aside her own and our community’s basic rights for the sake of her own political gain.

Jess Durfee

Dear Editor:

I guess Nicole can’t take a joke. I imagine it must be all those exposed nerves from plastic surgery. I would say, however, that I got the biggest laugh of the evening at the San Diego Democratic Club when I said that if elected I would obviously have no problem appointing members of the community to city boards or agencies except Nicole.

Many of you will understand that, if elected, given the city’s financial condition, I would have a fiduciary responsibility to keep Nicole as far away from the city treasury as possible.

I do thank Nicole for the free publicity and should I get elected as dogcatcher, I will see that he is appropriately rewarded. I am also flattered to receive so much space in his very, very important column.

Ian Trowbridge

Dear Editor:

Every day the world changes around us presenting us with new challenges. Stepping-Stone stays the course. We concentrate on our mission and serve those that knock upon our door seeking relief from many addictions. We give them a safe place surrounded by unconditional loving and light. We give them new tools to apply in there life and become productive members of society. You help us save lives by providing this environment. By staying focused, we accomplish great things by partnering with you.

You help us raised much-needed funds for are mission, Stepping Stone will hold there annual fundraiser Living Out Loud at the Embry Institute for Wildlife Conservation on Sunday Sept. 25th from 4-8:30pm.

Several years ago, we operated one sober living home, Our House, where we provided transitional housing to those that successfully graduated from our residential program. Today, we also operate Enya House, and we are looking to add another sober living home in the near future.

Five years ago, we operated out of several little, dilapidated cottages. Today, we have a state of the art, award winning, long-term residential facility that is seen in the industry as a model recovery home. Visitors walk through in awe.

Three years ago, we made a conscious decision to change both the nature and structure of Living Out Loud. The new approach emphasized entertainment and attendee interaction. Last year, attendance doubled, resulting in a corresponding increase in profitability. The monies raised helped to offset severe funding cuts due to budget restraints at both the state and federal levels.

This year we set a goal to reach out and connect with even more of you. We anticipate this year’s event to be bigger and better than ever! The combination of Joan Embery and Leslie Jordan is a sure bet for fun and excitement.

Only one formula works: focus and partnership. We promise to continue giving back to our community this or something better for the greater good of all concerned. On behalf of this year’s Living Out Loud Committee, we are grateful to you for your support.

James Sam Ginelli

Chair, 2005 Living Out Loud Committee

Dear Editor:

Give it up already. First the voters said no. Then the courts threw out those phony marriage licenses. Now the Terminator says no way. This means you, Geoffrey Kors. Your million e-mails are a joke. The Gov never even reads them. You too, Assemblyman Mark Leno. Same-sex nuptials or religious freedom or marine research or equality for all...it’s dead in the water. You can’t bully Arnold like your colleague, Tom Umberg. You can’t lean on Arnold like you did with girlie man Tom and get him to change his vote. Arnold never said he supported the idea, you did. In fact he told us the opposite when he ran two years ago, remember? ABC-TV says 59% of the people in California oppose same-sex marriage. They believe in traditional families.

Not motherhood via egg donating. Making a withdrawal from the sperm bank isn’t their idea of fatherhood, either. They do it the natural way So why don’t you and Geoffrey go down to New Orleans if you both want to help humanity, and I don’t mean to attend a Southern Decadence party.

Gay men and women already have what they need to be together. There’s civil unions and domestic partners....if you don’t stop pushing things too far and lose even these. If two people truly love and need each other, they don’t need a piece of paper; if they do not, a dozen licenses won’t matter. Many heteros do it nicely without the big deal of legality; and some find out after the legality that it’s no big deal anyway and want the freedom bit after all, like Brad and Renee.

Let’s fight the real fight...like gay drug abuse, gay homelessness, HIV and cleaning up Gay Pride. Scandals hurt us. Getting in everybodies face hurts us. We’re too much into thinking we’re somehow damaged without wanting this or that conferred upon us by the state. Get over it.

John Primavera

Dear Editor:

I was very disappointed and upset by Bill Lullo’s letter about Coco Lachine in the September 15 issue of the GLT. This punk pussy had the nerve to take the time and effort to write in to complain about the fact that Coco was expressing her feelings about the recent hurricane! I personally read Coco’s column and was very happy to see that someone was putting in print how upset so many were about the devastation in New Orleans. Is Bill insinuating that a person who is a drag queen is not an American citizen who can be affected by such things? Is not every American entitled to their own views and beliefs? Just because someone dresses a certain way, are they not human? Are they not allowed to have views and opinions? Just because a person is a drag queen does not mean that that person is stupid or unable to speak on political issues! Bill seemed to be more concerned with Coco’s “dresses” than he was with the content of her article, attempting to invalidate everything she had to say – simply because she is a man dressing as a woman. When someone was trying to speak out about the injustices of this world, Bill had the audacity to write in and say he was more concerned with where he was going out that night! If Coco should stick to writing a social column, Bill should stick to what he does best – cruising the bars with the rest of the trolls and talking about things he knows nothing about!

Erin Taylor