I live in Opelika, AL - a small west central Alabama town very close to Auburn, AL where Auburn University is located.
October 11 was National Coming Out Day, and on that occasion the GSA of Auburn University sponsored an observance of it. It involved a very public display in front of the Student Union building on campus. The Following day the local daily newspaper, The Opelika Auburn News, covered the event with an article on its front page. It was a fair and unbiased article.

The Following Sunday, the following letter to the editor was published in the "Your Opinion" section:
(text in parintheses is my editorial commentary)
Trisk (JiM Creasy)

OPELIKA AUBURN NEWS
(Lee County, AL)
YOUR OPINION - Letters to the Editor
========================
10/14/2007
Lee County ministers should speak out against homosexuality
(The editor supplies Headings for letters they print)

I think it is a disgrace that not one single minister in Lee County has anything to say about front page news being given to homosexual celebration of National Coming Out day at Auburn University. I do not care whether it is politically correct or not. The Bible clearly says that homosexuality is an abomination against God. My position doesn't have anything to do with who a person is. It has to do with salvation. You cannot be a part of anything abominable before God and have Jesus Christ in your heart. Jesus cannot and will not abide where there is evil. And according to God's word, perverse sexual behavior is against God.
Those who partake in evil will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. These are God's words.
I do not hate people just because of their sexual preference, I simply feel sorry for them because they do not know that what they do is an abhorrence to God.
They do not believe it. Therefore, I keep our community in my prayers. It is a sad thing to me that a so-called Christian community is afraid to speak out.
Where are our ministers?
Where is their voice?
I am one lone Christian speaking out for Jesus, the son of God, who died on the Cross that we might be saved. If those who celebrate such a day have the right to publicly speak out, why can't I speak out for Jesus.
He will be coming back very soon to collect his church from this earth and God help everyone who is left to face the great tribulation. It is coining people. Whether you believe it or not, it is coming and when it does, those who had heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and did not believe will be lost forever.
PEGGY ALLEN
OPELIKA
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(The following Monday several of us who gather at the local coffee shop to discuss the world, etc. decided that the letter ought not to go unchallenged; so I wrote a letter and eMailed it to the editor. The following day he phoned me, saying he would like to print it, but that it was too long - they limit letters to 300 words. He even offered to edit it for me, but wanted to give me the opportunity to do the editing for the sake of fairness. What follows is my edited letter which appeared on Friday, 10/19/2007. Incidentally the day Ms Allen's letter appeared there was a huge color photograph of the Auburn football team kicking the winning field goal - thus the idea behind my opening paragraph - most of which I copied from her letter )

Ten percent of humans can be defined has genetically homosexual
(I I did not write this heading; This title makes no sense to me in that it wasn't all that crucial to what I wanted to say.)

I find it a disgrace that not one single minister in Lee County has anything to say about front page news being given to men who play football, thus touching the skin of dead pigs (Oct 14). Scripture clearly states in Leviticus 11:6-12, " And the swine ... is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch; they shall be an abomination to you ..."

Seriously though, those who wish to observe Levitical law have a perfect right to do so, but should not condemn those who do not. Levitical law is not moral code, but ancient purity codes, which identify one as a member of the Jewish faith: The vast majority of Christians, and probably many Jews, would object if even a few of the kosher laws listed in Scripture were enforced today. Christians long ago were released from observing the purity codes set forth in the Old Testament. Salvation has to do with faith, not legal observance. The vast body of scientific evidence indicates that about 10 percent of the human population can be defined as genetically homosexual in orientation. There is no indication that homosexuals choose their orientation, but rather it is against their (God given) nature to behave as heterosexuals. Neither the Ten Commandments, nor Jesus, addressed homosexuality.

A couple of passages in the New Testament Epistles condemn certain types of same sex behavior, but serious study of these passages reveals the offending acts relate to participation in false religious observances.
I congratulate the Opelika-Auburn News for giving serious and prominent attention to the local observance of National Coming Out Day. The young people in the news story are to be commended not condemned for their brave support of equal treatment of people no matter what their sexual orientation or gender identification.
JAMES CREASY,
OPELIKA
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(The following days and weeks these letters to the editor appeared.)

10/27/2007
Biblical teachings consistent with rebuking homosexual lifestyle

James Creasy rejects the consistent biblical teaching against performing homosexual acts as a religious purity law comparable to a prohibition on eating pork. By this reasoning, since Alabama law forbids playing dominoes on Sunday there is no reason to obey laws against drunk driving. ( WHAT?)
Some Old Testament laws, such as Sabbath worship, dietary restrictions, and circumcision, were designed to set the Hebrews apart as a special people with a national discipline. These laws have a different character from prohibitions on child sacrifice, idolatry or homosexuality, which the Hebrews recognized as "toevah/ abominations, "( Who decides which acts have the characteristics of Toevah and which don't? The OT does not make this distinction.)
Most of us don't consider incest, temple prostitution, or intercourse with an animal as irrational taboos without ethical force. Following the groundbreaking insights of the Hebrews on sexual ethics, we reject these sexual abuses as bending sexuality in the wrong direction, causing it to grow in hideous ways that make a person incapable of sexual fidelity within marriage ( How do these make one incapable of fidelity?). Jesus relaxed the disciplinary rules of Judaism by declaring all foods legal and teaching that Sabbath is made for man. ( Jesus did make reference to these in this way, but many other Kosher rules he did not mention - i.e. pork, shell fish, mixed fabric, etc. - yet the early church did dropped them from it's list of taboos, Why? Jesus also made no reference to what we call homosexuality, so why keep it in the list of taboos?)
The first-century church rejected circumcision and changed the day of worship.
But Christianity stood firm on rejecting the sin of Sodom, cited by Jesus in six (?) passages recorded in the gospels. ( The Sin of Sodom is not homosexuality as we understand it today - The sin of Sodom was inhospitality, xenophobia, and disregard for the poor and oppressed as defined in several places in the OT.)
Affirming the great Hebrew insight, restricting sex to marriage (Oh Really?), Jesus rejected all "sexual immorality" (where does Jesus say homosexuality is sexual immorality? ) that "makes a man unclean," and taught an inviolable marriage in which a man and a woman become "one flesh (Why are these folks not making an equally big uproar over heterosexual divorce ?).
BRUCE MURRAY
AUBURH, AL
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10/28/2007
Homosexuality is in no way endorsed by the Bible

This letter is in response to a couple of recent letters regarding homosexuality. Both were asking why no preachers were speaking out. The second letter was making light of Old Testament penalties, and that 10 percent of homosexuals are genetically that way.
I normally keep quiet from the editorial page but can't be silent any more. Let a preacher give you some Bible on the subject.
Genesis 19:25 and Judges 19:22 is where men wanted to rape men. Sodom, being the first, was destroyed for this and other wicked practices. ( this is not an accurate interpretation at all - as those of us on this list have previously discussed)
Deuteronomy Chapter 23; 1 Kings chapters 14,15 and 22 all have references about cultic homosexual prostitution which was God's people practicing what was an abomination to him, meaning morally disgusting to Him. ( abomination does not mean MORALLY disgusting - it does mean disgusting, but disgusting does not mean immoral - as pointed out by Daniel Helminiak in What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality - to pick one's nose is disgusting, but it isn't immoral.)
Leviticus 18:22 says a man lying with a man is detestable to the Lord. 1 Corinthians gives a list of those who are not going to enter God's kingdom, and sexually immoral and sodomites/homosexual offenders are on it.
Romans chapter 1 says God gave them over to their shameful lust (lesbians included in this passage), and they received due penalty because they would not turn to Him. 1 Timothy 1:8-10 lists sodomites (which comes from a Greek word meaning person engaging in unnatural sex especially homosexual) with slave traders, liars, fornicators and murderers as being contrary to the sound teaching.
The author of the second letter said that the 10 Commandments says nothing about it; but like it or not the Bible is clear that God does not accept it any more than He accepts lying, murdering, adultery, greed, or stealing. If I read it right, those are covered in the 10 Commandments. ( None of this would stand up to modern Biblical Criticism - a valid method for evaluating biblical texts)
The gentleman also said in his letter that Jesus never mentioned it. I will cover that in another letter. ( He met his 300 word limit --- The OA News printed a second letter from Mr. Turner later in the week, I'm not quite sure this is fair, although, in all fairness, they also printed another letter of mine. )
MIKE TURNER
BEULAH
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10/28/2007
Please use scientific references when making ridiculous claims

In a letter last week, James Creasey stated, "The vast body of scientific evidence indicates that about 10 percent of the human population can be defined as genetically homosexual in orientation."
I request that Creasey, in a follow-up letter, provide we readers with scientific references that will validate this statement.
No theory or speculation, but reports of studies that are faithful to the scientific method with statistically validated conclusions.
Thanks to Mr. Creasey in advance for providing this information.
CHARLES B. ELKINS
AUBURN,AL
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11/02/2007
Temptation is not a sin, but acting upon that temptation Is

(The Editor ought to count this letter as Mr Turner's 301 - 600 words of his first letter)
The gentleman was right; Jesus never mentioned homosexuality. However, in Mark chapter 1, He did say that what comes out of a man is what defiles him, and in the list sexual immorality, which is practicing homosexuality, is included.
I think the gentleman was trying to infer that Jesus gave some freedom to do it or something, by his reference of the Old Testament death penalty and its absence in- the New Testament (That is NOT what I meant ). Jesus only gave freedom from the death penalty not for the practice. In 1 Corinthians Paul tells us we are not free from God's law just under Christ's.
Some proponents of homosexuality have even tried to say Jesus was at least bisexual because of his relationship with the disciple John "whom He loved;" ( This is an interesting aside, but rarely used as valid justification for supporting the homosexual's cause; and certainly not any thing I said.) however, the Greek word used for loved there means kindness and respect not a romantic love. If 10 percent of homosexuals were genetically born that way (I think he means 10% of the general population is homosexual) then God would-be condemning them for something they had no control over (At least he agrees with one of our points) . God never condemned practicing heterosexuals except premarital or extramarital, but like it or not He did condemn practicing -homosexuality all together. (?????? WHAT????) But there is hope in Jesus Christ. It is a forgivable sin.
Now we as Christians need to remember that James tells us in the Bible that mercy triumphs over judgment, and Jesus said we need to get the beam out of our eye before we try to remove the speck from someone else. Homosexual tendencies are nothing more than temptations, and we all have some kind of temptation. We must remember that temptation is not a sin: only acting upon those temptations is. You can be a Christian with homosexual temptations; you just can't, practice it no (sic.) more than I could practice adultery, murder, stealing or lying. (His argument is circular: He first assumes and believes that homosexual acts are sinful, he then builds an argument to prove it - quoting misunderstood and out of context passages.)
MIKE TURNER
BEULAH, AL
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(A letter in our defense appeared in the OA News on 11/04/2007, but I failed to keep a copy of it. It was a very good letter from my prospective. and I hope to find a copy of it soon for my records.)

======================

(My Second letter appears)

11/05/2007
Ten Percent of Population is Gay
(I don't understand why the % is such an Issue for these folks, but since there is no real firm and totally accurate way of ascertain the exact % of the population that is gay, I figured allowing them to say as little as 2% of the population is gay does commit them to the premise that it is genetic and not a choice, which is more to our advantage than the exact %)

I stand corrected: A conservative estimate of the percentage of homosexuals in the general population is 2%; but my point remains, we do exist and we are within the normal range of variations for our species. Many reputable authorities, including both the American Psychiatric and Psychological Associations, affirm that we are neither sick nor sexual perverts; Visit www.apa.org/topics/orientation.html for documentation. I believe that sexual orientation is not an "either/or, " but rather a continuum between homosexual and heterosexual poles, and we each finds ourselves at different points along this scale. Also we each have a right to exist peacefully and unmolested no matter where we are on this continuum.

I am a Christian; I am also a gay man. My experience has been that when I attempted to deny this about myself the result were devastating. I lived with depression and self hatred most of my early life. I knew in my heart I was being dishonest, which was inconsistent with my faith. The more I pushed it into the dark recesses of my soul, the more it found ways of surfacing. I ended up in a psychiatric ward being treated for clinical depression; but with the help of therapists and supportive spiritual guides, I faced the fact that I am gay. My official psychiatric evaluation suggested that my best course of action would be to live openly and honestly as a gay man. I chose to follow this advice; and it was like being "born again." I now enjoy my life. I feel very close to God, and I have no doubt that God loves me and had a purpose in creating me this way. I will never return to the dark closet of despair; and I advise other gay people to do the same.

The Reverend James Creasy
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11/8/2007
Let's stop using God as an excuse for prejudice beliefs

In response to two different letters, I felt an obligation to comment on the subject of homosexuality. In one of these letters, the question was asked, "why can't I speak out for Jesus?"
Well, you most certainly can. Please ... let me join you. The fact that people get so angry at this topic bothers me.
What bothers me more is when those same people bellow from the rooftops that their cries of prejudice are justified by religious doctrine. I'm no theologian, but when I think of God, I think of love and compassion. I think of generosity and kindness — not condemnation. Let's stop using God as a backing for prejudice.
Also, there seems to be a great polarity between the gay and religious communities, and disappointingly so. This argument is not one between the gay community and Christians. This argument is between people coming from a motive of love and people coming from a motive of fear.
That's the bottom line. To reference one of the letters again, the comment was made, "I keep our community in my prayers." Good ... and I mean that. Continue praying. Pray that we can come together somewhere other than a protest. Pray that we can look each other in the eye and see what Christ sees: a child of God. At Coming Out Day, I saw men and women standing with pride in who they are.
Surely God had to be involved somehow in the process — the strength to let go and stop hiding, the courage to embrace their spiritual truth. Because while you might call a gay man or woman celebrating their sexuality a perversion, I call it beautiful... I call it holy
JOHN M.ANDERSON
AUBURN, AL
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11/10/2007
Showing respect to people from all walks follows a more spiritual path than not

This is in response to the letter to the editor from David Floyd.
First of all, the Opelika-Auburn News should be congratulated, not because it is "helping" the cause of LGBT students, but because it is reporting the news regardless of its personal views.
Secondly, I am unsure how a religious diatribe registers as newsworthy. Should the newspapers take to reprinting Bible verses instead? If this is what you would like to read, I am sure someone can find you a copy of the Bible.
To me, this kind of religious zealotry is inflammatory on multiple levels.
Your particular Christian beliefs do not represent the whole of religious beliefs, let alone the whole of Christian beliefs in Auburn/Opelika or the country. Therefore, your ignorant assumption
that all people should agree with your beliefs as though they are "the" only beliefs is inane.
There is no counter to such statements because they are written from an emotional perspective that lacks objectivity
You alone are no authority of what God wants. Personally, I follow the beliefs of the Lakota, which honors LGBT people as having a sacred way of being. While, you, David, may never have had to explain how you knew you were heterosexual or defend your right to express love, this is not true for everyone, and your apparent need to flaunt your privilege by condemning anyone who isn't just like you is just plain bigotry
The world is made up of many different people, and I believe personally that showing honor and respect to all people is a much more spiritual path than condemnation and hate. LGBT people aren't going away. They have existed since the beginning of time, and no amount of religious zealotry is going to repress or change that.
AMNEY HARPER, M.A.
AUBURN, AL