First, on behalf of the hundreds parents of gays that I know, both in Philadelphia and on the Internet, thank you for news reports on the Billie DeFrank Center's work with teenagers and for publishing announcements of meetings of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).
As for Robert Dillon's astonishing column condemning the work of the center. Where to begin? Dillon says, "And I'm sure my parents considered the kind of deviant activities the Billie DeFrank center advocates simply too bizarre to address."
Two thoughts.
First, Dillon's father lived a generation ago, he may not have had the opportunity to know openly gay men and women, but Dillon has no excuse.
Second, it is Dillon's column that strikes me as simply too bizarre to address.
The homophobic fear of recruitment is particularly bizarre. Do those who hate our children worry that homosexuality is so attractive and that homosexuals have such wonderful opportunities in this country that straight youth will be irresistably drawn to it? The truth is, recruitment is in the opposite direction. The pressure on gay and lesbian young people to lie about who they are is incessant, sometimes unbearable. Substance abuse, suicide, marriage. You think gay people don't marry? Many gay men marry straight women and many lesbian woman marry straight men. Ah, the spoils of heterosexual recruitment: traditional families no matter what the sexual orientation of the individuals involved, no matter how many people are made miserable in the process.
Since Mr. Dillon has learned to use email, he should be capable of learning new things. I invite him to visit the PFLAG-Talk Home Page. He will read about Bruce Murray, a teenager in Seymour Indiana who was driven out of school by classmates who beat him with bibles and threatened him with death. He can also correspond by email with Bruce's mother Rhea Murray. Rhea and I and many other parents of gays would be glad to correspond with anyone who questions the importance of the work of the Billie DeFrank Center. Go to http://www.critpath.org/pflag-talk/
Maggie Heineman
Philadelphia, PA 19119
[phone number withheld]