Readers React: West Hollywood has a sex scandal. So do less LGBT-friendly cities

To the editor: Yes, West Hollywood does have a progressive attitude regarding sexual expression and behavior, something that started among heterosexuals on the fabled Sunset Strip decades before the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities began to thrive here. (“Sex scandal at West Hollywood City Hall sparks calls for less Grindr, more respect,” April 11)

Yes, we have been going through an ugly and disheartening scandal at City Hall that includes allegations of sexual harassment and other questionable behavior by a gay council member — though it pales in comparison to Bob Filner’s felony and misdemeanor crimes against women when he was mayor of San Diego, or the misadventures of Eliot Spitzer and Anthony Weiner in New York.

I don’t recall seeing The Times or any other news outlet apply the term “heterosexual” to those sordid episodes. There was no hint that the straight cultures in which these powerful men operated were to blame for their sleazy personal choices.

Not to downplay the serious aspects of the scandal in our colorful little city, but let’s keep it in perspective, shall we?

John Morgan Wilson, West Hollywood

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To the editor: As a gay male, I take offense to Councilman John Duran’s flippancy toward the sexual harassment lawsuit against him and am upset that West Hollywood residents had to pay to settle the case.

Duran’s behavior reminds me of ex-Sen. Bob Packwood’s sexual harassment of several women that ended his political career in the early 1990s. The last we heard from him was the statement, “I just didn’t get it; I do now.”

It is time for Duran to get it and move on. This unique city deserves better.

Rick Murphy, West Hollywood

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