More than 145 people have signed onto this letter. We are people who work or live in Orono. There isn’t room on this page to print all our names, but we stand behind this message.

We write because we are dismayed that an Orono family and its child have been subjected by the Christian Civic League and another Orono resident to public criticism concerning basic rights that are the bedrock of our society and our decency. The issues may be difficult, but no family – and certainly no child – should be publicly harassed about them.

We wish to express our support for the family at the center of this painful public controversy. We want the family to know their neighbors are with them. For every press conference that unnecessarily hurts them, there are unseen numbers of us standing by their side. For every unnecessary public statement against the child’s best interests, our opinion is mobilized in the family’s favor.

Those with whom we disagree have First Amendment rights; but so do we. We cannot remain silent. We offer the family this letter and everyday actions such as the flood of e-mails being exchanged among Orono families expressing solidarity. If it helps even a little, the family should know they are not alone: 145 of your Orono neighbors stand with you.

Stephanie Cotsirilos Stefanie Egenhofer

Orono