Student Alliance’s Right to Meet Moves Others to Speak Freely

* Louis P. Sheldon’s well-honed skill of vacillating between the laws of Caesar and the laws of the Lord is giving unto me a headache. At the onset of this debate, I knew it would only be a matter of time before His Bellicosity squared off against the untold threat of these teen-age students.

The hollow diatribe of this sore loser illuminates the flimsiness of his stand against an issue addressed in a democratic forum and OKd by the majority.

Quoting California Penal Code, and somehow mystically entering into the thought processes of Congress on the creation of the Equal Access Act, Sheldon demonstrates his ability at bridging the important gap between religion and state . . . as the need arises.

What does a support organization for a group of American citizens who have historically been despised and threatened have to do with sex? Nothing. The ongoing religious oppression backed by Mr. Sheldon and his followers is responsible for the exodus away from the major churches over the past two decades, as well as the increased incidence of hate crimes in recent years.

When a religious leader fails to see the simple goodness of providing safe harbor for his fellow journeyers in this life, then it is time for this person to re-evaluate his objectives and to ascertain just which God he is responsible to.

My prescription for the chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition is 40 days and nights of meditation in the desert . . . and I don’t mean Palm Springs.

G. FRED LOGAN

Laguna Niguel

* Looking at The Times’ front-page picture of Fountain Valley High School Student Alliance member Christina Grant (Jan. 12) and reading the supporting article “O.C. School’s Gay-Support Group Wins OK,” I was reminded of the saying “actions speak louder than words.” The group states their goal is to promote acceptance and understanding of all people and yet the picture shows Ms. Grant in a shirt that depicts a cross in a circle with a slash mark across it and the word religion above.

Proudly wearing the anti-Christian shirt strongly suggests her lack of respect for Christians and causes concern for the effectiveness of the group’s proclaimed goal of tolerance for all people.

BONNIE O’NEIL

Newport Beach

* Regarding your coverage of the Fountain Valley Student Alliance, the support group for gay and lesbian students (Jan.12): I am proud to be an activist for gay/lesbian and AIDS issues in Orange County. Yet I purposely refrained from attending the recent school board meetings regarding this student group.

I object to the presence of uninvited guests, such as members of the Traditional Values Coalition or National Gay and Lesbian Task Force at the school board deliberations. The Fountain Valley Student Alliance is a group that has taken the initiative to make its own decisions. Certainly, the students have the right to invite whomever they choose to support them.

However, when national organizations appear to offer their “support,” part of the educational process is jeopardized, and the lives of the individual students involved become pawns in the political game between powerful adult interest groups.

The danger is that the elected officials involved will make decisions based on the political interests of the adult groups, not on the basis of what the students want.

So I say to outsiders on both sides, whether from the TVC, the NGLTF or wherever, until someone asks for assistance, let these kids learn on their own. Part of the educational process in a pluralistic society should be learning how to come to terms with differences of opinion. Certainly, adults should be available as resources when requested.

These youth, on both sides, are our future. Let them find their own way for conflict resolution.

Maybe their solution will be better than the bitterness that characterizes the current debate over the rights of gays and lesbians and the rights of association all Americans enjoy.

BRINT BUTCHART

Fullerton

* In a recent letter to the editor (Jan. 16), Louis P. Sheldon asserted that Fountain Valley High, a public school, should not allow a gay support group to meet because it advocates sexual intercourse between minors, which is illegal in California.

While this sounds logical on the surface, it does deserve further examination. Sheldon is mistaken to believe that this support group is actively encouraging sex. In fact, these students want, and are getting, nothing more than a caring, supportive environment made up of their peers.

Mr. Sheldon is the one who continually positions this as a sexual issue.

DAVID ROBERT HEYWOOD

Anaheim Hills