I was shocked to read “the rights of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer culture” in an article by Sarah Stultz in the Sunday paper. The article was about two Albert Lea students who received honors for their essays on human rights. Many of us wonder why the Republican Legislature found it necessary to put an anti-same sex marriage amendment on the ballot. We need to look no further than articles like that in Sunday’s paper.

When a presumably educated individual such as Ms. Stultz includes the “queer culture” in her article, we need not look very far. I thought this term was outdated but also discriminatory and disgusting. It’s not the worst word that has been used to describe gay people — we only need to look at our so-called basketball heroes to know this.

Recently, there has been increased talk about how bullying rules in the schools are not working, particularly against LGBT kids. This at a time when polls nationwide show a majority of Americans believe in more rights, including the right to marry whomever they love, for this group of Americans.

A number of our mainstream religions are moving in the direction of allowing openly gay individuals to be ordained as ministers and to serve as pastors of their congregations. Some congregations have embraced this change while others have urged their pastors to take a vote disassociating themselves from the religion they have practiced all of their lives. I pray that we can move beyond our discriminatory ways and find a way to be more tolerant and accepting of others with whom we may not understand.

Patti Kimble

Emmons