Gay Life In The 21St Century

Some loved our March 20 cover story; others hated it. Altogether more than 700 readers wrote to us and shared their strong views on 'Gay Today.' A forum.

Words are not enough to express my gratitude to NEWSWEEK and all the individuals featured in "Gay Today," (Special Report, March 20). As a gay man who grew up in Orange County, Calif., I have found that my journey to self-worth and self-acceptance has not been an easy one. Reading "Gay Today" has given me renewed strength to keep trying to educate others in our community that when it's all said and done, "to love and be loved" with respect, dignity and truth is not a "sin" or a "right," but a gift that we human beings bestow on each other.
David Hanson
Corona Del Mar, Calif.

Boy, is your March 20 cover story on gays disappointing. NEWSWEEK has definitely fallen from a legitimate news-reporting source to a vehicle of agenda-pushing. I am amazed that you or anyone else would be so shocked at the number of Americans opposed to gay marriages or adoptions. And twice as amazed at your surprise over the lack of acceptance in the church. If God had intended gay families, wouldn't he have created Adam and Ed?
W. Chaney
Clemmons, N.C.

I am a 15-year-old boy attending an all-boys prep school, and I would like to say that your story on the gay couple with the two sons ("Two Kids and Two Moms") was very interesting. I am not very accepting of homosexuality, but your story did make me think about my views and how they might need to be changed. However, I do think that gay people should stop their "whining" about the harsh looks and stares that they receive. They should understand that they are not the same; they are different, and should learn to live with it. And if you are gay, you should maintain a certain respect for the people around you who are not. Do not decorate your car with bumper stickers fighting for your cause. Just leave "us" alone, and I will leave you alone.
Name Withheld

It is appalling that Dr. Laura Schlessinger excuses her insensitive and intolerant behavior toward gays as "words used in a clinical context" by an Orthodox Jew (""). I have been a therapist for more than 18 years and a Jewish woman for more than 60. From either perspective, there are no beliefs, attitudes or values that would condone or judge behaviors of others in such a pejorative and biased manner.
Carole Katz
Southfield, Mich.

I listen to Dr. Laura on the radio for about two hours every day, and have for more than two years. I don't know where you got your quotes, but they are wildly out of context. Anyone unfamiliar with her broadcasts would get an incredibly biased idea of what she's about if that were all he knew about her. NEWSWEEK obviously shook out the words you wanted to support your own view and rearranged them to damn her. You make her sound dangerously crazy, and that's just not the case. What you printed is not what she broadcasts on a daily basis at all.
Mariane Matera
Mechanicsville, Va.