Letters to the Editor for May 25, 2009

GSA comprised of brave young people

To the editor:

I have read the letters in the paper voicing support and opposition to the new Gay-Straight Alliance group at BHS.  As a mother of kids in a local grade school, I have learned that the biggest put down you can be given is to hear, “you’re GAY.”  This is in our grade schools.  This is happening to second-graders.

The stigma of that label is negative right from the start. No one is born a bigot. Instead one is exposed to ideas and often generational attitudes that shape discrimination.

The purpose of this group has been clearly defined. Each and every one of us deserves to feel acceptance and support for who we are. This group offers this unconditional support.

This is not a debate about sexual orientation as much as tolerance and acceptance for who a person is at their core.  This isn’t curriculum. It isn’t mandatory for every student. I am a Christian and attend a local church. And, I feel the judgement and isolation that people who identify themselves as gay experience every day is a sin in itself.

The greatest thing we are called to do is love.  When we start off the conversation with “you’re wrong,” how is that love?  Instead, allow these young people the forum to heal and be heard for who they are.

Not all children come from a family where these topics are easily discussed or at the very least tolerated.  Too many teenagers find solace in drug and alcohol abuse, risky behavior and the very real option of suicide.

I applaud these brave young adults who have taken a proactive step of offering support to individuals who are overlooked and maligned all too often.

Lori Lien

Baker City