Coalition Against Homosexual Rights in Irvine

Re the Sept. 6 story on the Irvine coalition against homosexual rights (“Group Looks Beyond Goal of Excluding Gays From Law”):

It amazes me in this day and age that Irvine resident Scott Peotter can oppose his city’s ordinance protecting gay men and women from discrimination in housing, public service and employment. It amazes me still that he and his backers believe that one’s sexuality is a matter of choice and that it is even remotely possible to help a homosexual “get out of the life style.”

If Peotter had any interest in educating himself on the subject he would find volumes of psychological research and thousands, if not millions, of gays and lesbians who would adamantly oppose his contentions.

Homosexuality exists in a percentage averaging 10% in all states in the United States, all nations of the world and all animal groups that inhabit our earth. It is a natural phenomenon that is deemed unnatural simply because it is not the norm. A gay man has as much “choice” in being a homosexual as Peotter has in being a heterosexual.

True, gay men and women can choose not to live a life that is natural to them, but wouldn’t that be just as cruel as insisting that Peotter live life as a gay man? Absurd!

Peotter equates homosexuality with adultery as “chosen sexual behavior.” With this belief he has organized a coalition to deny gays protection against the same bigotry that is fueling his drive. I hope the people of Irvine have more tolerance and compassion than this man has shown.

S. ZUCKER

Laguna Beach