I just read the recent Viewpoint piece, “Weighing both sides of gay

marriage,” by Emily Kelly and really I don’t know where to start.  There

were so many factual inaccuracies that, as a scholar of LGBT politics, I

felt compelled to write in.  First, Ms. Kelly should know that the term

“homosexuals” fell out of favor over 20 years ago and is now offensive to

LGBT people.  Second, homosexuality has not really been an issue for

centuries; before the Industrial Revolution it was not possible to live as

gay in the way we today understand it.  Homosexual acts have long been

persecuted, but gay people were not able organize their lives as gay until

very recently.  Third, the “free love” of the 1960s didn’t actually have

much to do with the rise of gay politics.  The roots are with the Civil

Rights movement, then the women’s movement.  Gay rights came about

politically as a movement fighting for civil rights of a group, not within

the context of sexuality.

So far I have only made it through the first sentence with my critiques.

I’ll stop there, because this article doesn’t really deserve much more of

my time.  I would urge you, as editor, to impose stricter standards on your

writers. Such uninformed articles are not just about journalistic

integrity, they are insulting to those who are the subject of such

thoughtless treatment.

Thank you for your time.

Kate McFarland

Teaching Fellow

Ph.D. Candidate

Department of Sociology

UNC-CH