Teaching proper values

Dear Mrs. Claybrook,

The article* in the Tri-City Herald prompted me to check into these homosexual books that you are attempting to have locked up. Like you, I was appalled. King and King and My Two Uncles send a very dangerous message to our children, a message that homosexuals should be afforded dignity.

Tolerance is becoming a real problem in our society. When I was a kid, we'd beat the living hell out of any kid who was called a homosexual. It didn't matter if it was true--in fact, we never believed it to be true, because we knew that it was impossible for anyone to be a homosexual in our nice little God-fearing Mormon community--it only mattered that someone had called him a homosexual. That was enough for a stomping.

Today's kids aren't blessed with that kind of cultural guidance. Television and bleeding heart liberals tell them that it's OK to be a homosexual. Now you hear of kids who dare admit their orientation in public. They are no longer afraid of getting beaten.

We need to change that before all of our children succumb to the siren song of homosexuality. I say burn these books about tolerance and bring back the beatings. We need to do it for the good of the children.

Thank you for doing your part.

Gen. JC Christian, patriot

Article requires registration. Here's part of it:

Kristine Claybrook doesn't want to be surprised when she reads to her two children in the public library and finds gay-oriented characters or themes in a book.

"We feel the library should be a safe place for our children to browse without being exposed to this sort of lifestyle," said the 26-year-old mother. Her strong faith in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints anchors her and her family's values, she said.

She is shocked the Mid-Columbia Library District has put books such as King & King and My Two Uncles in its children's section. She believes the books, which address issues facing families that include homosexuals, should be kept in a separate section of the library.

She and other like-minded mothers have discussed the issue since one of them first came across one of the books in January.

"She was just appalled," Claybrook said. Since then, she and her husband Paul have written complaints to the 11-branch district, which has 67,460 registered users and an annual circulation of nearly 1 million items.

Pepper Schwartz, a University of Washington professor of sociology, said the debate over gay issues intensifies when it involves children.

"I respect the intense urge to protect one's children," she said. "But in this case, I think parents may be whipped up in a conservative frenzy. I really don't think there is any danger of any sort."

Since Heather Has Two Mommies, by Leslea Newman, was published in 1989 there has been criticism about such books being shelved in children's sections of libraries.

The Mid-Columbia Library district has six copies of King & King and five copies of My Two Uncles at its 11 branches.

"It's trying to push this kind of lifestyle on people," Claybrook said. "It doesn't coincide with the majority of the (Mid-Columbia's) population, which is conservative."

Schwartz disagrees: "I don't think children are at risk because (the books) are on the bookshelf. ... The jump from reading a book about tolerance to trying homosexuality is not clear to me."

Schwartz, co-author of the book Ten Talks Parents Must Have with Their Children about Sex and Character, said the controversy boils down to a question of values. She said similar controversies arose from the civil rights and women's rights movements.

Rev. Eileen Lindner, deputy general secretary for the National Council of Churches, said it's a freedom of speech issue, and as long as a work doesn't meet the legal definition of being obscene, it's protected speech.

As for the books in question, she said they are attempting to help children understand an issue and tolerate children around them who might have a nontraditional family. The books, she said, don't advocate gay marriage or promote gay lifestyles.