Gazette Letter: 3/19/08

Wednesday, March 19, 2008 Open forum: If group talks like a conservative,  then it must be Michelle Turner, spokeswoman for Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, states  that, contrary to The Gazette’s characterization, CRC is not a group of ‘‘religious conservatives” and that there is not ‘‘one medical journal or study that supports” the characterization of homosexuality now in the Montgomery County Public Schools eighth- and 10th-grade health curriculum (‘‘Facts do not support description of group,” March 12 letter). But CRC’s own Web site belies Ms. Turner’s first assertion. It states that Christians believe that any sexual activity between people of the same sex is ‘‘gravely sinful” and contrary to ‘‘God’s ... plan for sexuality.” Of course, not all Christians believe this and many denominations are fully accepting  of gay people who do not wish to deprive themselves of the joys and responsibilities  of intimacy that CRC believes that God condemns. Therefore, it is certainly fair to  describe CRC as ‘‘religious conservatives.” As to Ms. Turner’s second assertion, I would simply refer readers to publications  of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association,  organizations, which scrupulously follow medical research and have concluded that  sexual orientation is not a choice. Finally, CRC’s opposition to the school system’s curriculum is inconsistent with its  own statement about what the Bible says about sexual orientation. (The curriculum,  correctly, does not address theological disputes.) CRC says that a ‘‘homosexual  orientation is not usually chosen and is a cause of suffering.” So, by CRC’s own  words, the question for the wider community is not whether sexual orientation is  a choice, but whether it results in suffering (lives of celibacy and loneliness) because God demands that suffering or because some religious dominations assert  that that is the plan of a loving God. David S. Fishback, Olney The writer is a member of the board of directors of Metro D.C. PFLAG (Parents,  Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays).