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Show Page The National Enterprise, June 29, 1977 twenty-si- x Letters Editor: This letter is in reference to the article on page less of the position he takes, he will face 17 of your June 15, 1977 issue entitled "Old considerable opposition from other concerned Schools mar developers plans. parties. In the article, I am credited with the direct quote: "Ted Wilson is acting more like the mayor of Edith Avenue than the mayor of Salt Lake City. Actually said that Ted Wilson was the mayor of Salt Lake City and not the mayor of Edith Avenue and that his concern must be for the whole city. I believe the sentence, as you reported it, is very derogatory to both the mayor and me. I would greatly appreciate you correcting the meaning of my statement in your next issue. I retired from the Air Force in 1970 and, until that time, had spent practically my entire adult life in the military. As a result, I may have a more pragmatic approach to situations than most people. However, 1 am fully appreciative of the between rock and a hard place situation facing the mayor, the city commissioners. and the planning and zoning commission. I feel I am being cast in the role of a "heavy ora "wheeler dealer" when actually nothing could be further from the truth. I am sincerely interested in the community adjacent to Lincoln School, the preservation of what I consider to be an outstanding building, and the positive effect the project could have on our city. At all times I have cooperated with city officials and have asked for and followed their suggestions and advice. I have solicited input from people in the area in order to make the project as beneficial as possible for them. die ToOedaimo I Mayor Wilson has supported the Real Estate Complex Program before an open meeting of the board of commissioners and a meeting of the planning and zoning commission. My I from the time not has began changed position site School Lincoln of use the the to alter trying I and that position is that firmly believe the Hopefully, the transition of the Lincoln School project I have proposed will be beneficial to the site can be resolved through cooperation to immediate community and the entire city. provide the most beneficial use of the property. The article you published was slanted towards In addition, I strongly resent the implication controversy and unsolvable problems and will that there are any hard feelings between us. I probably hamper the necessary cooperative feel Mayor Wilson has exercised courage and efforts. I believe the business community must leadership in facing the problems surrounding be aware of the problems you pointed out in the change of function of the Lincoln School your article. But I also believe The Enterprise site. He maintained a stand against a previous could be instrumental in helping resolve the However, I do feel that the proposal for the use of the site and has problems. supported the proposal which I presented quotations you attributed to Mayor Wilson and because he believes it would be compatible me were irrelevant as well as inaccurate. with the neighborhood and the city. Regard- Joseph W. Healy Salt Lake City, Utah Gay argument confused by Ralph deToledano Copley News Service The public prints continue to concern themselves, both editorially and in the letters columns, with the recent referendum in Dade County, Fla., which overturned an ordinance barring discrimination in employment against homosexuals. The arguments pro and con generate much heat and little light. As far as I can ascertain, all of them miss the point. It is argued that homosexuality defies Gods law, and not to contrariw ise that homosexuals are also Gods creatures be cast into outer darkness. Both points may have validity, but they do not have any standing in a secular society bound by a Constitution which, particularly as read by the Supreme Court, draws a firm line between church and state. It is argued that homosexuals should not be permitted to teach in schools where they can influence young and unformed d psyches. On the other hand, it is noted that the statute replaced one wrhich barred homosexuals from all licensed employment including driving a cab. now-repeale- anti-discriminati- on It is argued that homosexuals are an abomination in a and that they are no different than other heterosexual society people simply because they do not conform to the practices of the majority. The debate ignores what little we know about the nature of homosexuality or the current findings of psychologists and anthropologists. Is it a glandular dysfunction? A psychological aberration? These are matters which should have been discussed and weighed but, they too, beg the question. THE NATIONAL activists are That question is important because the anti-ga- y now planning a nationwide campaign to overturn statutes in states and cities which have relaxed restrictions on homosexual activity as an extension of civil rights. The plain fact is that the repealed Dade County ordinance codified a contradiction in law. In most states of the Union, homosexual practices are classified as felonies, with penalties as high as life imprisonment. With the exception of Illinois, which has legalized consensual sexual practices when committed in private, homosexuality is elsewhere a misdemeanor. What the repealed Dade County ordinance said, in effect, was that it was illegal to discriminate against those who openly admitted that they were committing a felony. The absurdity of this anomaly becomes apparent if "embezzler or "poisoner is substituted for "homosexual. As long as homosexuality is a crime, the gay community can make no claim of civil rights. As a conservative, it is my position that government has no business to regulate peoples behavior, sexual or otherwise, where it does not impinge on the rights of others. An argument could be made that all law's involving sex, except where they prohibit violence and compulsion, are a negation of the freedom of association and expression guaranteed by the 1st Amendment. But as a matter of logic, I cannot see how ordinances relating to gays can sit e in the statute books with laws making homosexuality a crime. If the individual attests to his homosexualtiy in order to end job discrimination, he is simply offering a zealous prosecutor the evidence with w'hich to send him to prison. anti-discriminati- on side-by-sid- It is to this anomaly that those who defend the rights of homosexuals should address themselves. The violation of civil rights lies in the criminal statute, not in any ordinances. " we nave ftoctsp a wiNNegr 11 discriminatory This is the question which lawmakers and society as a whole must face and decide one wray or another. |