"…this goes without saying."
Excerpts from the unequivocating words of Howard Troxler, columnist for the St. Petersburg [FL] Times ("Name-calling only reveals ignorance, not truth"):
Well, this goes without saying. But a lot of things that go without saying need to keep getting said over and over anyway.
Being gay is not the same thing as being a pedophile.
Frankly, it feels kind of silly to have to say it.
[…]
This is 2005, and we ought to be past this. And yet, some people go out of their way to keep the confusion going.I am sure that my clumsy definitions will offend somebody, but …
Being gay is remarkably like being straight, except you pursue your life's interests with consenting partners of the same gender. And there's more prejudice.
Being gay is fairly common and therefore in my book normal. Whether people are born that way, formed by their surroundings, or even (although I do not believe this happens much) gay by choice, they are entitled to the same rights as I am.
[…]
But as for this constant attempt to equate all gay people with child molesters: At the very best, it is based in lack of knowledge; at the worst, something much darker. Decent people, even those who believe homosexuality is a sin , ought to speak out against it.
All that, and Mr. Troxler didn't even go out of his way to be very clear about his own sexual orientation. How refreshing!