Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Real issue is landlord rights

While I was impressed with 15-year-old Elissa Menzel’s Oct. 17 letter, “Society won’t meet personal needs,” I have to disagree with her.

The question isn’t whether society must change to meet anyone’s personal beliefs. It is not about whether I am right or whether Menzel is right. The question is whether Spokane will allow landlords, business owners and employers to publicly disagree about what is right or wrong.

A landlord who tells a prospective homosexual tenant that he refuses to rent to any homosexual because of his religious convictions will be fined $250. If that landlord continues to refuse to comply with the current ordinance, he will be guilty of a misdemeanor. The landlord’s choice will be to give up being a landlord or to risk fines and jail.

The courts have found that forcing a landlord to make this choice is unconstitutional because it infringes upon an individual’s religious liberty, freedom of speech, freedom of association and constitutional property rights.

Menzel shows promise as a gifted writer. I would also encourage her to do a little reading about religious freedom. Opinions based on religious convictions may never mean that someone is right or wrong, but the ability to express and act on those opinions enjoy special protection under the U.S. Constitution and the Washington State Constitution. David L. Stevens Spokane

Scrutinize rights measure, too

The Spokesman-Review Oct. 18 article on Initiative 695 went on in great detail explaining that the initiative may, in part, be unconstitutional. The article was excellent, but I wonder why The Spokesman-Review cannot (or will not) do a similar article regarding the current human rights ordinance.

I believe that any serious article on the subject would address the following questions:

Does the recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, Thomas vs. Anchorage, render the current ordinance inapplicable to landlords who have religious objections to homosexuality?

Are the opponents of Proposition 4 correct that any suit would be frivolous?

If Proposition 4 fails, is it likely homosexual and bisexual activists will next advocate for protection based on “gender identity” as they have in Seattle?

Will activists ask the city to pass an ordinance that requires employers to add health and insurance benefits for gay partners?

If the current ordinance was not an advocacy of a gay agenda, why doesn’t it include wrongful termination provisions to protect everyone from arbitrary employer decisions and a just cause provision to protect everyone from a landlord’s arbitrary decisions?

I look forward to seeing if The Spokesman-Review has the expertise to address these questions or if it will continue repeating the “No, no Discrimination” party line (with a note saying that “Equal Rights, Not Special Rights was unavailable for comment”). Dave Stevens , Spokane

Why the storm water charge?

In response to storm water fee (Oct. 18), I don’t understand why we have to separate the storm water. Is it dirtier than the other water, or what? How long have they known they would have to do this?

We as taxpayers pay $5.38 for maintenance of water mains, a $4 rate stabilization for improvements to the wastewater treatment facility, $9.73 for the operation of the treatment facility and now, they want $3 a month to separate the storm water from the sewer water.

You would think with the $19.11 they get now they could fund this themselves. Vicki Wren Spokane

Unfunny remark wins Corker a vote

I was torn on who to vote for City Council Position 2. After reading the Oct. 22 Spokesman-Review, my decision was made. Al French’s “fiancee” commented that they have set a wedding date of Feb. 30; it just has not come around yet. If that was intended to be funny, I did not take it that way. I take offense to that comment for myself and all those who hold marriage as something sacred.

If French does not have enough time to get married, how will he have the time to be an effective member of our City Council?

My vote goes to Steve Corker. John Sicilia Spokane

Calendar sales shameful

I’m ashamed of our police, firefighters and Spokane authorities for allowing their calendars to be sold. Also the people who benefit financially and those who sell them. This certainly is not good for our city and its law-abiding citizens. Bobbie Cullitan Spokane

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

Group’s focus is suicide grief, guilt

Thank you for running the articles on suicide (Oct. 17).

Two years ago, my youngest son killed himself. Before that, I knew little about suicide. I was sure it only happened to other people; it could never touch me and those I loved.

I learned that suicide does not respect age, race, class, education, income level, religion, or any other category we might invent. Suicide is an equal opportunity killer. I learned that suicide is the last taboo. No one wants to talk about this frightening subject. But we must talk about it. Only by shedding light on this plague will we be able to devise ways to combat it.

Those who have lost someone to suicide suffer incredible guilt, often believing that in some way they were responsible for their loved one’s decision. That isn’t true, but to those left behind it feels true.

There is a local group, Survivors of a Loved One’s Suicide, or SOS, that offers support for those going through this awful grief. The group is open to all who have lost someone to suicide. It meets the first and third Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. in the basement of the Red Cross building, 315 West Nora.

SOS does not counsel but does offer a place to share your feelings with others who have gone through the same experience. If you need a place to talk, people who understand what you are going through, please join us.

Again, thank you. This important subject has been ignored for too long. Creta Kunz Spokane

We’re all different; Let’s accept that

I don’t oppose others’ opinions, although when someone writes to the paper that gays and lesbians are only pursuing sexual fantasies, I consider that dictating lifestyles.

Donna R. Lands said, “It is their decision to act upon their personal sexual fantasies” (Letters, Oct. 5). That statement relates to anyone. Being gay or lesbian is not a sexual fantasy. Most people probably have sexual fantasies, so what is wrong, whether it is a gay couple or a man and woman?

I say to gays and lesbians who stand up for their rights, more power to you. Life remains exciting because we are all different as human beings. We all came from God.

As long as people are happy and love who they are with, their sexual preference should not matter. Perhaps the reason why gays and lesbians try to keep explaining and asking for acceptance (something they shouldn’t have to do) is because they are sick and tired to having to deal with and listen to people like Lands. Kellie E. A. Fuson Murray, Idaho

Try for well-rounded discrimination

Vonda Lougher (Letters, Oct. 17) asks, “Do we have an obligation to discriminate against what God clearly discriminates against?”

Why restrict yourself to homosexual practice? The Bible has many more passages against fornication and adultery than it has passages against homosexuality. For that matter, Malachi 2:16 says that God hates divorce. In the New Testament, both Mark 10:11-12 and Luke 16:18 have no escape clause excusing divorce.

If you wish to begin discriminating based on the Bible, then use the whole Bible, not just the parts that don’t make you uncomfortable.

On the other hand, if divorce is OK, despite the clear scriptural evidence against it (and that even from the New Testament), what is the basis for insisting on some of the Old Testament passages (while ignoring bunches of others)? Timothy J. Rolfe Spokane

Young activist shows the way

I am very impressed with Bethany Anderson’s article, “Using sex to sell products demoralizing” (Oct. 11). She saw what she perceived as a problem, and instead of just complaining she took action. She went into the store, told them that she found their poster, “a nearly nude model with her jeans unzipped,” offensive. She obtained 200 signatures of teenagers who also found the poster at Express in the NorthTown Mall offensive.

How often we complain but take no action!

It is very encouraging when teenagers see through the hype of advertisers and ask themselves just what are people really selling. Why have we let advertisers put our modesty, our dignity, our self respect up for sale?

Are teenagers the only ones with their blinders off?

I challenge the adults of this society to wake up and decide to take a stand. We complain about crime. Think about the proven results of pornography. We complain about teen pregnancy rates and display girls with their jeans unzipped. What does it take to wake us up?

I think it takes discerning teens to say, “No more! Stop exploiting us!” and then for all of us to stop spending money where modesty, discretion and honor are ignored.

Way to go, Bethany! Sally A. Davis Spokane

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

De-emphasize money and seek integrity

With Elizabeth Dole’s withdrawal from the presidential race, it becomes crystal clear that we will have a choice between the best candidates that money can buy. Interestingly, the current campaign rules are supported in the name of free speech. Tell her about it!

The current rules provide the opportunity to speak to those who will sell themselves for the most money. We’ve seen for years that candidates can be sold to the American people like hamburgers or soft drinks. Anyone with enough money for clever TV ads can look like a nice guy.

There’s a reason this newcomer to national politics, George W. Bush, has collected the most money in election history even before the presidential race has officially begun. It’s not because he seems to be a “nice guy.” The reason is that big-money interests have every reason to believe he’ll be as controllable as his father. He may be a nice guy, but during his watch, Texas has executed far more prisoners than any other state and has more people without health insurance than any other state. Maybe he looks like a nice guy because he’s not as vicious as Pat Buchanan.

It would be a great day for our nation if the two political parties could nominate Sen. John McCain to run against former Sen. Bill Bradley. Their unquestionable integrity would make for a race that, itself, would be a giant first step in restoring faith in our country.

I’d like to see people of courage and integrity be able to win elections. Robert M. Stevenson Spokane

Gore changes position again

Vice President Al Gore has flip-flopped his Senate position on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty just as he did on partial-birth abortion. Exactly what we need - another president without integrity. Pat D. Kilpatrick Post Falls

Let’s do a little basic thinking

As the elections draw near and the various parties and candidates offer their prescriptions for a better world to the electorate, we might pause to think about what a better world is and how we might get there.

We are faced with an assortment of social, economic, and environmental maladies, many of which seem intractable or keep recurring in various forms. The candidates offer their solutions to these problems, but these proposed solutions are almost invariably ideas which derive from prevailing social and economic thinking and have been recycled repeatedly, too often ineffectively, in different guises over the years.

Perhaps we should ponder things that are genuine, unifying, lift our spirit, ennobling, and truly give us a sense of belonging and meaning in our lives, versus things that are superficial, divide, alienate, exploit and unnecessarily promote cynicism, social and economic dysfunction and environmental degradation.

We should also carefully examine our conditioned and habitual ways of thinking, what we value, our notions of progress, the tenets of the system in which we live and where the roots of many of our problems lie and ask ourselves whether what we seek the most, deep inside, is being emphasized in our current model of living.

This reflection might inspire us to vote for candidates who have a glimmer of the vision necessary to augment the efforts of individuals striving toward a new model of living, rather than simply tinkering with a creaking old model with stale, business-as-usual solutions. Dennis D. Finn Pullman

Wasteful trip all but unnoticed

Thank you, Tom Hayes, for a wonderful editorial (Oct. 11) “Your government is your enemy.” My thoughts, exactly.

I have been amazed at the lack of outrage over the $42 million spent by President Clinton and his entourage to go to Africa for 10 days, considering the continuous, malicious angry attacks on the Justice Department’s investigation (via Ken Starr) of the many Clinton scandals. Starr’s investigation lasted five years and cost taxpayers $40 million (five years vs. 10 days). Starr secured a number of convictions, as well as the impeachment of a dishonest, manipulative and unscrupulous president. Many, many people have truly been duped. It scares me for our country’s future. Jolee Benoit Spokane

PEOPLE AND ANIMALS

Dog should be best friend for life

Don’t give up so soon on your dog! Don’t cast him off to the animal shelter, hoping like heck someone else will inherit your mistakes.

I volunteered to walk a dog recently at a local animal shelter. I felt physically and emotionally sick, seeing all the dogs’ faces close up. All I wanted to do was get out of there. But the poor dog handed to me was just about ready to jump out of his skin with happiness to get away from the concrete and bars. Some dogs barked frantically for attention and some just lay there like bumps - all the life and hope gone out of them.

Most dogs that “don’t work out” are that way because of their masters’ faulty training, or lack of it. In the end, the dogs pay the price with their lives.

Truly commit yourself to the dog’s well-being for it’s entire life or just don’t get one. Julie Perkins Spokane