March 27, 2004

Baltimore Sun
501 N. Calvert St.
Baltimore, MD 21278

Dear Editors:

The letters you printed on March 20 objecting to Leonard Pitts Jr.’s 
column were unfortunately indicative of the degree to which the oppression 
of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people has so far been ignored 
or tacitly endorsed by large numbers of American citizens. 
     
The inability of same-gender and transgender couples to receive equal 
(or in most places, any) legal protection for their families is at this
moment the central issue in the struggle for GLBT equality because that 
massive failure of our government is both symptomatic and a major cause 
of a much larger set of problems.  In answer to those letter writers 
who claimed otherwise, the oppression of GLBT people does involve physical 
violence, but it is so pervasive and accepted that most of the time it 
is simply ignored.  How quickly we forget even the few publicized cases: 
Matthew Shepard, Billy Jack Gaither, Lynn Vines, and Gwen Araujo.  And we 
fail to even recognize those who are abused in public schools and 
communities of faith, who are denied employment because of their gender 
identity or who have to hide their orientations to keep their jobs.  

Yes, the mood in San Francisco was joyous.  Of course it was joyous.  
The mayor of the city most widely recognized as GLBT-friendly decided 
to support GLBT people to the best of his ability.  But even there the 
courts of California decided to enforce inequality, and even there, 
people traveled from as far away as Philadelphia just to shout at the 
newlyweds through bullhorns.  We have seen enough of what happens at 
peaceful gatherings of pro-GLBT religious folks in towns like Lynchburg 
to know that there will be strong reactions when same-gender and transgender 
couples line up for licenses in hostile towns with unsupportive mayors, and 
that day is coming.  Overt, violent, publicized oppression does not make a 
civil rights movement real.  Injustice makes it real.  The media reports 
simply force people to pay attention, and even then many will still claim 
that their religious beliefs justify the oppression.

Sincerely,


Barbara Lamond Purdom			Christopher Purdom
Interfaith Working Group Coordinators