From: Interfaith Working Group Subject: IWG Allentown Anti-Discrimination letter Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1998 23:17:30 -0400 (EDT) September 11, 1998 The Morning Call 101 N. 6th Street Allentown, PA 18105 Dear Editors: Frank J. McVeigh's letter of September 4 is a perfect example of why it is sometimes necessary to have laws which explicitly list certain human conditions that do not exempt people from the civil rights guaranteed to all citizens. McVeigh believes that all people who share a particular characteristic tend to engage in "civil wrongs," and therefore all people sharing the same characteristic should not be entitled to unidentified "special civil rights" (which seem to mean the same rights most of us take for granted). No individual should be legally responsible for the actions of everyone else who shares a characteristic with them, just because some people are obsessed with that characteristic. Stereotype-justified discrimination has been aimed at individuals on the basis of their religion, skin color, handedness, country of origin, language, and political affiliation, among other things. In this case, McVeigh is complaining about people who are attracted to people of the same gender, and his complaints are based on a misuse of statistics and a lack of understanding of family and religious diversity. The percentage of AIDS cases caused by same-gender sexual contact does not say anything about the percentage of sexual minorities who have transmitted AIDS. There are families that accept and love their sexual minority members. There are Jews and Christians who do not believe that same-gender sexual behavior is any more sinful than mixed-gender sexual behavior. And there are also members of our society who have chosen to belong to other faiths. All of these people are explicitly entitled to the same civil rights as everyone else whether McVeigh, their family members, or anyone else is happy with the choices they have made. Sincerely, Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators The above letter went out on IWG letterhead listing 15 congregations and organizations and 59 clergy from 16 religious traditions. 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. -- Interfaith Working Group Religious organizations, congregations iwg@libertynet.org and clergy supporting gay rights, http://www.libertynet.org/iwg/ reproductive freedom, and the 215-235-3050 separation of church and state.