Subject: IWG Dr. Schlessinger letter
From: Interfaith Working Group <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 12:09:12 -0400 (EDT)

The following went out on IWG letterhead listing 10 congregations and religious
organizations and 39 clergy from 13 faiths and denominations. If you are in 
the general Philadelphia area and represent a congregation or religious 
organization or are clergy, let us know if you want to be added - all faiths 
are welcome. We will also be happy to help start similar organizations in 
other areas.

May 25, 1997

Dr. Laura Schlessinger
c/o The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation
122 East 42nd Street
New York,  NY  10168

Dear Dr. Schlessinger:

We were both saddened and disturbed by the column in
which you said that you believe homosexuality is an
inferior sexual orientation.  To grade human sexual
and affectional relationships on their potential for
direct biological reproduction is morally questionable
and the insulting way in which you stated your opinion
was socially reprehensible.

As parents, we hope that we are providing our children
with two loving and firm adults with compatible
personalities who put their best interests at heart.
We fail to see how these qualities are at all related
to our respective genders, and we resent the
implication that they might be.  But what we found
most offensive about your column was that you labeled
the deeply held religious beliefs of many people to be
"bizarre" and "regrettable" without even acknowledging
that you were insulting their faith traditions.  In a
society with many religious traditions, there are
times when it becomes necessary to respectfully
disagree with someone else's faith, but it is
traditional to at least be civil about it and make
polite concessions about respecting the beliefs of
others.

In addition to multiple races, multiple genders and
multiple sexual orientations,  there are also multiple
religions.  We are people of faith who believe in the
moral equivalence of same-gender relationships, and in
justice for sexual minorities.  It is very clear to us
that, consciously or not, you believe in the
superiority, and most importantly, the state
enforcement of a belief system that values rigid
gender roles and biological reproduction above all
other sexual aspects.

We sincerely hope that you will rethink your position
or at the very least apologize for your insulting
tone.

Sincerely,
Barbara Purdom     Christopher Purdom
Interfaith Working Group Coordinators

-- 

Interfaith Working Group                Religious organizations, congregations
[email-masked]                      and clergy supporting gay rights,
http://www.libertynet.org/~iwg/         reproductive freedom, and the 
215-235-3050                            separation of church and state.