No special protection

Jasper H. Wyman (Readers Write, Jan. 25), claims gay rights activists are “pushing for special protection under the law.” That is not how I understand the situation.

Rather than “special protection,” the gays and lesbians I know want only the basic rights of Americans. They want to be allowed to rent apartments and buy homes. They want to be hired or fired on the basis of qualifications and job performance, rather than on the basis of prejudice. They want to be allowed to marry the person they love. They want to be able to live in peace, without fear of being beaten or murdered because of who they are. In short, they want to be treated just like anyone else. That is not “special,” it is just ordinary protection.

As Wyman describes it, the so-called Christian Civic League of Maine is opposing such ordinary justice. This group seems to be calling for open prejudice and discrimination against peole who are different from the majority. I think that is very un-Christian.

As a heterosexual, I am free to write this letter. But a homosexual might risk being fired or even physical harm for writing a public reply to Wyman. As a Unitarian Universalist minister, I believe it is my religious duty to help my neighbor, especially those who are outcasts. Jesus didn’t hang around with self-righteous fundamentalist pharisees; he preferred the company of lepers — the first century equivalent of people with AIDS. Rev. J. Mark Worth Ellsworth