Yes or no. Right or wrong. Pretty simple choices, right? Wrong! These seemingly simple choices have been made difficult and confusing by people more concerned with compassion than common sense. If the original referendum question about gay rights had read, “Do you favor taking away the right of business owners to carefully screen prospective employees, tenants, etc., and do you also favor small special interest groups to force the acceptance of their particular lifestyle on other people?”, I think the outcome would have been a resounding no. Had it been that simple, we would not be faced with the confusing “no means yes situation” that we have now.

The “good people” of Maine have come forth by the hundreds to make it clear that the sexual preferences of people who wish to frequent massage parlors are not welcome among the general population. Now these same people are insisting that the sexual preferences of a certain minority group not only be welcomed, but also protected. Smacks of double standard in my book!

None of the many letters I have seen really dig through the symptoms to get to the root of this controversy. The real root is not that both kinds of sexual preferences exist, they have been around as long as humanity. The root is that some of the people from both these groups have an unacceptable urge to flaunt their personal habits before the public, thus daring other people to reject them for it. Much like a child testing his or her parents to see how far they can push.

There are many people who will say that because I don’t agree with the choice of partners of gay people that I am a bigot. I don’t think I am. I don’t hate them, feel sorry for them, or wish them any harm. Actually I have done business with gay people and usually found them to be articulate, thorough, caring, and very good at what they do for work. I just don’t think who they sleep with is any of my business.

What makes the choice so difficult on this question is deciding whether it is more acceptable for a few, or for the majority to feel they are in fact being discriminated against. I have to vote with what I feel will be the majority on this one and say yes, repeal the law giving special rights to any minority group. Venora Cote Bucksport

As a parent and resident of Maine, I am very concerned about the negative forces at work within our communities to drive us apart by discriminating against a group of people who are no different than they, other than their sexual preference. Concerned Maine Families should be concerned about child abuse, unemployment, cuts in needed social programs, and state-funded agencies, rather than a group of people who have never done anything to harm anyone.

Carolyn Cosby should be ashamed of the comment she made about gays being more affluent than other people, giving that as a reason to discriminate against them. Does that mean that anyone who has “more money” than the average Maine resident should be discriminated against because they would be more financially equipped to fight it?

Who is she to judge a group of people she knows so little about? I wonder what her stand would be should she have a gay or lesbian child, sibling or other close relative. After all, gay and lesbianism doesn’t discriminate against who will or will not be; why should she? Judith M. Lewis Dover-Foxcroft

In the recent campaign for Question 1, the vote no camp has perfected the art of half-truths and deception. The people of this state would like to see the list of contributors to the vote no campaign. We would like to see where more than half a million dollars have come from. The average Maine employee cannot dream of ever having more than $500,000 at his or her disposal. What groups are so interested in seeing this question voted down?

One of the themes of the vote no camp is that we don’t need state intrusion into a local issue. However, a bill was recently put on the 1996 legislative docket for gay rights. If this is a local issue, why are the liberals bringing it to the state level again? After 18 tries, they should get the message and quit. But all those out-of-state dollars buy more votes each year.

Another half-truth is Gov. King saying that Colorado has suffered from passing an anti-gay rights measure. The economy in Colorado is flourishing. Check the facts. Many of the themes spouted by vote no people are false. Diana Ray Ellsworth

The guidelines for legitimate civil rights claims have already been set by our federal Supreme Court. There are no “special groups” that need to apply “in the future” for protection. If they are legitimate claims, they will fall into the federal guidelines that the Supreme Court justices have carefully created.

Giving special protected rights to any group because of a behavior would open up a Pandora’s Box that would cause the civil rights of the average citizen to be infringed upon.

Maine people are fair and kind. We don’t wish to discriminate against anyone. The homosexual person, who lives in Maine, has every right and protection that all Maine citizens have.

I won’t be intimidated or fooled by the politically correct views of some of our leaders. A yes vote on Question 1 will insure that all Maine people have equal protection under the law. Rosanne Dauphinee Patten

I’ve lived in many different places and I’ve noticed more than a few good things about people in Maine:

Mainers might get angry but see no reason to be rude;

Mainers can wait a few moments at a green light without honking if the person ahead is a little slow getting going;

Mainers make time for their children;

Mainers are often generous beyond their means;

Mainers have their opinions, and you’re allowed to have yours;

Mainers are generally very tolerant and believe in leaving other people alone if they’re not bothering you.

This last characteristic is why I believe Question 1 is inappropriate for Maine. It is beneath us, regardless of what one thinks of homosexuality. Vote no on 1. David P. Frasz, M.D. Dover-Foxcroft