A letter in the Post Express the other day caught my notice:
Gay Marriage Photo Troubling
I was saddened to see the choice of photo on Friday’s front page about the legalization of gay marriage in Canada with the caption “Gay Milestone.” I am not against the rights of gays, but I am against having it put in my face at every turn. It saddens me that while doing a simple thing like reading the paper on my morning commute, I have to see this picture that I feel is morally wrong. I think that there are hundreds of other photos that would have conveyed what the article was about without showing two men kissing. I think that being gay is a lifestyle choice and I should not have to be a witness to it first thing Friday morning.
—LACHELLE WIMBISH
Suitland, Md.
Let me say this first: being gay is not a “lifestyle choice.” I’m not going to get into it here, but unfortunately this is the pin on which much of the gay rights debate hinges. Some people think it’s a choice.
Now about the photo in question. Oh, please. It was a cropped version of this AP photo. And while it did appear on the front page, it wasn’t even the main photo (which was of mourners of a nightclub shooting); the photo of the kiss (which I would describe as quite modest) is in the sidebar. (PDF of complete issue, 10.6 MB.)
Readers responded:
Gay Marriage Photo Realistic
I guess it’s good that you published the preposterous letter Tuesday about the photo of two men kissing that accompanied a story on same-sex marriage in Canada. The writer says in once sentence she is not against “rights of gays” and then says gay marriage is “morally wrong.” Marriage is about affection, among other things. People who marry commonly exchange a kiss. Would the writer have been more comfortable having the couple shake hands?
—RICHARD BODACK
Washington, D.C.
Papers Have Duty to Inform
I was saddened to read the letter regarding the gay marriage photo. Newspapers are intended to inform us about issues going on in our world. Gay marriage is an important issue, and it’s not going to go away by avoiding photos or articles about it.
—KARI BECKER BEARD
Washington, D.C.
That letter disgusted me. That’s so ridiculous. Do we groan with disgust everytime a straight couple is shown on TV or newspapers? No, we have to deal with it. So should she. What an ignorant fool.
And, as I noted the other day, for the sake of argument suppose being gay were a lifestyle choice. Well, so is religion, and it’s a protected category. So their argument about choice, even as fallacious as it is, doesn’t hold water against their own claims that people are trying to discriminate against them for their religious beliefs.
Well, being gay isn’t a choice, but kissing is. So is photography.
So I wonder, why is it that every time I turn on the television, look at a magazine, read a paper, see a billboard… do I have to be assaulted by a MAN kissing a WOMAN?
I mean, I have nothing against straight people, but do they have to do that stuff in public and shove it in my face?
Thom, your point is so well taken. If I were to write a letter to the newspaper everytime a photo featured a church…