| Beverly LaHaye, Chairperson
Concerned Woman for America 1015 15th Street, NW Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20005 November 20, 1998 Mrs. LaHaye, I had the opportunity to read your national survey concerning homosexual rights and the letter that accompanied it. I decided to write to thank you for what your letter did for me. I am a Gay American. Until now I have largely been unconcerned with the battles which are raging over gay and lesbian rights - my rights. I have played lip service to the �party-line,� regurgitating what others have said about why we should be allowed to marry, adopt children, be secure in our jobs, among other things. I have never desired to be personally involved in the actions which are necessary to securing the rights that are mine as a citizen of the greatest and freest nation on earth. That was until I read your letter earlier this week. For the first time I felt real anger over the fact that my rights are being taken away from me, and that people like you and organizations like yours are behind the assault on my freedom. I felt anger over your disgustful painting of gays and lesbians as immoral vermin. I was appalled by the fact that you as an American, born in a country who�s basic premises are that we are all entitled to �life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,� could even say the hateful, derogatory, un-American things you said in your letter. It is this anger, and my disgust, that has made me realize that I as a gay man I must do everything in my power to secure the rights which are mine by birthright as a citizen of the United States. I want to remind you that one of the founding principles of our nation is the separation of church and state. The government cannot and should not use the beliefs of a religious group to make laws for all citizens. �Christians� of your ilk are trying to enforce religious viewpoints on this nation as government policy. This, Mrs. LaHaye, is what is morally wrong. It is antithetical to all for which this nation stands. I believe in your inalienable right to have your personal religious beliefs. If needed I would fight for that right as well as the other rights that you and I both share as American citizens, the rights that are given to us by the Constitution; rights that cannot be taken away from us. I also believe in my right to be free from the religious dogma and beliefs of others. You presume to tell me how I should live, and go as far as to try to take my rights away from me because of your religious beliefs. Is this the American way? The way that your organization is so concerned about preserving? The rights, which we as gays and lesbians demand, are not special rights. They are an equalization of rights that other American citizens already have. The rights we demand are rights that have been endowed to us by the Constitution, and cannot be taken away. You have the right to marry the person who you love, why can I not do the same? Is it a special right? You have the right to serve in the military without fear of being discharged, should I not have the same right? Is it a special right? You do not have to worry about getting fired from a job nor evicted from your home because of your Christian beliefs, do I not have the right to feel just as secure as a homosexual? Is it a special right? You call your organization Concerned Women for America. Are you protecting the values of individual rights and freedoms which are the core of what this country is? Thank you again for helping me realize that I can no longer stand by and expect others to protect my rights. Thank you for your letter, it helped me understand that I must do as much as I can to secure my rights as an American citizen, and to work to protect the rights of all Americans from people like you and organizations like yours. I realized that I must work with the real moral majority to stop the erosion of our basic American rights before we find ourselves living in the theocracy that you would like to create. I hope that one day you will see the importance of true equal rights, and you will be truly concerned about what America stands for. Thank you again, |