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Gays don’t need cure

I was saddened to read Tom Brooks’ letter (“Fix people, not marriage,” Aug. 15). Saddened and angry that there are still people saying that if you are gay, it is because you have not done the “personal work” necessary to “fix” yourself.

Retired Columbia University psychologist Dr. Robert Spitzer, who promoted therapy to cure homosexuality, has recently reversed his stance. Says Spitzer: “I believe I owe the gay community an apology for my study making unproven claims of the efficacy of reparative therapy. I also apologize to any gay person who wasted time and energy undergoing some form of reparative therapy because they believed that I had proven that reparative therapy works.”

Brooks’ statement that “a huge percent of people who call themselves gay were not born that way” not only suggests the need for some personal work on grammar, it also indicates a need for personal work to address things that can be changed: attitude, prejudice and bigotry.

Kendall Feeney

Spokane

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