Letter: Turn kind words into compassion

To the Editor:

I thank Pastor Ron Stehr for writing that being gay is not a choice, which was a key point of the movie “For the Bible Tells Me So” (R-E, March 18). I welcome the day when others like Stehr and congregations like Concordia Lutheran Church turn such kind words into acts of love and compassion toward gay people and their families.

Real benevolence toward the GLBT community comes through enlightenment, an understanding that being gay is neither an illness nor an addiction. That is why therapy programs like Exodus International and Homosexuals Anonymous don’t work. Asking us to believe that these programs have proven successful for thousands is like asking us to believe the tobacco industry’s claim that cigarette smoking is not an addiction. Coming out works because it is based on people becoming more honest with each other.

If only we really had spent the “billions” on gay research that Stehr implied, perhaps we would have something more exciting, current, and reliable than Masters and Johnson’s and Dr. Elizabeth Moberly’s studies to discuss. Compassion neither depends on genetic research nor does it point fingers of blame toward parents or other individuals.

Bruce and Kathy Ause and many other families in Red Wing have shown this community how to transform kind words into acts of love and compassion for the GLBT community. They are helping other parents and families cope with the added stresses that come with having GLBT family members and friends. Helping parents understand that they are not to blame, that this isn’t about bad parenting or weak family values is so important to family wellness.

Many families in our area continue to struggle with GLBT issues on their own. Let us be good stewards and help them come out as individuals and families with acts of kindness.

Dale Hanson, Red Wing

Tags: opinion, hanson, stehr, gay