The Voters’ Approval of Irvine’s Measure N

I was both disappointed and embarrassed by the victory of Measure N. It’s unbelievable that the majority of Irvine residents voted for discrimination! Even more frightening is the parallel between this situation today and that which existed in pre-World War II Germany.

In the early 1920s, intellectuals and leading politicians in Germany realized it wasn’t the state’s place to pass legal judgment on an individual’s personal sexual preference. In 1923, they moved to completely abolish paragraph 175a of the German criminal code which declared homosexuality a crime. But before they could abolish 175a Hitler came into power and used 175a to justify the imprisonment and murder of thousands of alleged homosexuals.

Unfortunately the people of Irvine, at least the majority of those who voted, failed to learn the tragic lesson taught to us by history. Homosexuality may not have been directly voted a crime, but the voters of Irvine did establish discrimination. And although it’s most improbable that what happened in Nazi Germany could ever reoccur in Irvine, denying homosexuals the same human-right protections granted to heterosexual people is based upon the same ugly discrimination that “justified” the Holocaust.

I once believed the Christian leaders of our community, but their participation in this anti-gay drive has changed my opinion. I cannot worship among those who support such a blatantly discriminatory measure.

Perhaps the people who voted for Measure N believed they were voting against homosexuality. They were wrong. They voted for something far more dangerous.

SHELLEY KINSELLA

Irvine