Carolyn Cosby’s efforts to restrict rights of same sex couples (and gays in general) in the state of Maine deserve many adjectives, but my favorite is unAmerican. That’s right. Ms. Cosby is making a career out of creating legislation to restrict the rights of other Americans based on her own personal religious and moral beliefs. The very idea rails against the freedom guaranteed by the Constitution. Her efforts are not going to make homosexuals go away or even retreat back into the closet. They will hopefully, galvanize the will of the gay community and, through repeated dialogue, normalize the very idea of gay life.

The fact that she was able to find more then 60,000 supporters of her cause is not suprising. There are a lot of people who are ignorant about gay life. This ignorance breeds fear. It is clearly her hope to divide our population with this fear and disenfranchise our neighbores and friends their rights.

I am a hetrosexual man, married and with a child. Many of my families closest friends are homosexual. Many of them are pillars of our community, socially, professonally and morally. Morals aren’t about rules or dogma, but about respect and striving towards greater good. Shame on her and her supporters for trying to hurt my friends and community.

Bowen N. Swersey

Southwest Harbor