Letter exhibited bigotry
Regarding the June 5 opinion page, I can only hope that the editors chose to include Penny A. Lancaster’s laughable attempt at an anti-gay argument as a reminder that there are still people out there that are really that ignorant, bigoted and hateful.
Lancaster stated, “It is a fact that homosexual coupling is medically dangerous and costly to society and individuals.” I am gay and I have no idea what “homosexual coupling” means. Will Penny please explain it to me? I would also challenge her to find a doctor that would support her medical claim.
If Penny is claiming that same-sex couples are a financial burden to society, I can give her many examples to the contrary. For example, 57 percent of Fortune 500 companies offer health benefits to domestic partners. Although employer-provided health coverage for different-sex spouses is excluded from an employee’s gross income, domestic partner benefits are not. Therefore, same-sex couples who elect health coverage pay more income tax than similarly situated different-sex spouses.
On second thought, keep it coming, Penny A. Lancaster. The more pathetic and transparent the anti-gay rhetoric, the better for GLBT civil rights!
Marc Shumaker
Coeur d’Alene