reader forum.

Bravo for exposing the insidious hatred inherent in Dr. Laura Schlessinger's rhetoric ["Diss Jockey," February 15]. She preaches moral responsibility but won't take responsibility for the feelings of hatred her "opinions" foster in others. She has a right to her opinion, but we have a right to our response. I hope those responses will be voiced to whatever TV stations decide to air her program and to her sponsors. If we are indeed "biological errors," why would one who are "disabled" through no fault of their own?

Jerry Godfrey, New York, N. Y

Dr. Laura is just another mediocre televangelist hitting the airwaves rather than a "dangerous new voice of homophobia." We all know that televangelists quickly self-destruct because of their own demons. I suggest we sit back and watch history repeat itself!

Jesse Chavez, Las Cruces, N.M.

In a time when children are going to school with automatic weapons, singling out specific social groups, and literally massacring them, Schlessinger has all but put a target on the back of the heads of gay and lesbian youths and handed the shooters and their lawyers their defense: "Yes, your honor, we shot them, but they are deviants and biological errors; therefore they are less than human, and shooting them was no different than shooting a deer in the woods."

Kevin Titus, via the Internet

I am appalled that the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has given up its fight to educate the listeners of Dr. Laura's show. How can they forgo their responsibility to combat hate campaigns? If the fight is too hard, then shame on them. If left alone, her "schtick" will continue the suffering of gays who struggle to help their parents, family, and friends understand that they cannot be cured and that they are not sexual deviants.

Jeff Guaracino, Voorhees, N.J.

I am the daughter of two lesbians, and I may be only 15, but I know Dr. Laura is wrong. She says about gay parenting: "You're just going to stand by and let this happen.... Don't you care about the children?" Um ... yeah, I'm gonna let this happen. I feel I have gained more from my two moms than I would have from a mom and dad. I have many friends who have gay parents and have turned out perfectly. Dr. Laura doesn't know what she is talking about. According to her, we've been "robbed of a father or mother on purpose." We weren't robbed. We are fortunate to have the understanding perspective that we do. I cannot respect someone who promotes bigotry and hatred toward families that should be accepted as equals. Families like mine.

Alicia C. Baker, Vienna, Va.

Can somebody explain to me why it is that if you refuse to dance to the uber-trendy tune of contemporary political correctness, you are castigated as a hatemonger and bigot? How does that work? Any pretense of examining Dr. Laura in a journalistic (hence objective) light was thrown out the window on your cover, which called her "the dangerous new voice of homophobia." Excuse me? Because she disagrees with the gay rights agenda and voices her professional opinion to reinforce her views, she's a homophobe? Let's switch that around: Since gay rights advocates obviously don't "celebrate" straight lifestyles, by the same mentality they therefore are all automatically heterophobes. So much for honoring diversity.

Zach Pedersen, Portland, Ore.

I find it interesting that Schlessinger, like so many of her Christian contemporaries, has elevated to an art form "proof texting" the Torah or the Bible to support her own beliefs while conveniently ignoring the passages she doesn't consider relevant. Hers is the same logic the Southern Christians used to defend slavery, the Nazis used to justify obeying all civil authority, and some religions (Baptist and Catholic come to mind) use today to prohibit the ordination of women.

Ed Oliver, Jackson, Miss.

Dr. Laura won't give "cent one" to AIDS research while bathhouses remain open, even though safe sex is the norm in bathhouses these days. I wonder: Would she consider giving money to cancer research while people continue to smoke, sunbathe, and eat Twinkies?

J.A. Stanford Jr., Renton, Wash.

Fighting fire with fire

By advocating tolerance and a cease-fire on one hand and pulling out more bashing and rhetoric on the other, Richard Goldstein was unimpressive ["Cease Fire!" February 15]. I certainly applaud the idea that some GLBT people could do with some lessons in civility and that we should be searching for common ground. Yet Goldstein's mixture of "Why can't we all get along?" with hysterical lies about the white gay conservative "elite" only serves to add more hostile fuel to the fire.

Edward Brown, Perham, Minn.

At last, someone has articulated what many of us have been thinking about the legion of "spokespersons" for our community. If there were more opportunities like the Millennium March for this diverse community to come together, maybe there'd be less carping about the best way to address the challenges we all share. I read all the bellyaching about the march right after it was announced, which boiled down to a bunch of activists whining because someone else was taking the initiative. The argument about the siphoning off of energy from grassroots activism doesn't ring very true when made by activists who can't even see the grass roots from where they sit in New York or LA. or D.C. We out here in the grass are sustained and energized by the opportunity to come together offered by the marches, and I, for one, was eager for those whiners to shut the hell up and pitch in.

John Burton, Carthage, Tex.

Goldstein sinks to even lower depths of rancidity. In a piece supposedly condemning gratuitous attacks, he launches nothing but gratuitous attacks. I am honored to yet again remain at the top of this creep's hate list. As Joe Papp drummed into me over and over again when this sort of abuse used to bother me: "If you haven't offended somebody, you haven't done something right."

Larry Kramer, New York, N. Y.

Trump card

I just finished reading one of the most intelligent words yet from a presidential candidate: Donald Trump ["Trump Towers," February 15]. I love hearing a man speak the truth about what he believes in. First and foremost is Trump's answer to the question "Would we see gay people in a Trump administration?" He replies, "Sexual orientation would be meaningless. I'm looking for brains and experience." In everyday society we do not dwell on a heterosexual person's bedroom habits. I'd like the same respect

John Sherman Lathram III Columbus, Ohio

Science or fiction?

I enjoyed Michael Bronski's analysis of Ed Stein's book The Mismeasure of Desire ["Blinded by Science," February 1]. Stein makes the exact argument I have been trying to make for years--the gay movement has placed too much faith in "science" and theories of biological determinism to explain sexual orientation and defend our rights. We should go back to the argument of the gay liberationists, who argued that people are not born heterosexual or homosexual, and rescue Freud's notion of "polymorphous perversity" instead of accepting the premise that our rights depend on proving that people are "born" gay or straight. I choose to be gay and prefer that the biological determinists quit speaking for all gays.

Jim Maynard, Memphis, Tenn.

Stein's theory that gay sexual orientation is probably not biologically determined is not supported by most gays. A 1995 poll of Advocate readers revealed that three quarters of the respondents are convinced their sexual orientation is indeed determined by genetics. Who is Stein to say these lesbians and gay men do not know the reality of their own existence?

Carlos Martinos, Newport, Ore.

For the record

The February 1 issue of The Advocate should have included these photo credits: ABC for Bill Maher on page 8; Ken Probst/Corbis Outline for Pedro Zamora and [C] 1999 Studios USA Television Distribution LLC (all rights reserved) for Cleopatra 2525 on page 20; Mary Lommori/The Fresno Bee on page 55.