June 2, 2001

Poor Dean Byrd. The op-ed commentary he wrote with co-authors Shirley Cox and Jeffrey Robinson almost made me laugh (Tribune, May 27). In fact, it made me think of the "Flat Earth Society." The fact that such a society still exists suggests that some people are simply not capable of getting it. The authors spend an inordinate amount of time trying to convince us that science has not proved conclusively that homosexuality is biological. Where is the incontrovertible scientific evidence that homosexuality is not biological? They obviously believe that most gay and lesbian individuals choose their sexual orientation or arrive there because of psychosocial conditions that can be altered.

What they fail to mention is the overwhelming evidence available to everyone -- the testimony of gays and lesbians themselves. I have yet to meet a gay man who told me he chose to be gay. Gays and lesbians discover their sexual orientation and spend the rest of their lives dealing with it. Byrd, Cox and Robinson are all too willing to deny gays and lesbians their own truth. Why? Go figure. I have my own thoughts about their motivation.

Regardless of their motivation, one observation rings loud and clear. They are convinced that their paradigm is truth and the testimony of thousands and thousands of gays and lesbians is suspect. They offer themselves as an option to get gays and lesbians where the authors think they ought to be.

What would be wrong with accepting the testimony of gays and lesbians as the truth and trying to find a way to treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve as fellow members of the human race? When we finally get to that place we will no longer feel the need to help them change, to deny them basic human rights, or to use them as scapegoats for so many of the societal problems created by an intolerant heterosexual majority.

GARY M. WATTS
Provo