March 20, 2004

Greenville News
Box 1688
Greenville, SC  29602-1688

Dear Editors,

In a religiously free country like the United States it 
is extremely troubling when elected officials criticize 
the beliefs and policies of minority religious groups they 
do not like, especially when those groups are being criticized 
for treating people with equal love and respect.  All across the 
country in a wide spectrum of faith traditions there are religious 
organizations, congregations and clergy that ordain gay, lesbian, 
bisexual and transgender people and bless the relationships of 
same-gender couples, and they are just as entitled to their religious 
liberty and beliefs as those who discriminate on the basis of sexual 
orientation and gender identity.


Sincerely,
Barbara Lamond Purdom	
Christopher Purdom
Interfaith Working Group Coordinators