THE EDITORIAL to which Sally J. Naumann objected in her May 3 letter “She speaks for many who are concerned over gay influence’’ was hardly extreme. It simply said that Justice Barbara Lenk was qualified and ideally suited to the position for which she was nominated, and that her sexuality should not be considered as relevant to any decision on the matter. (Lenk was confirmed Wednesday to a seat on the Supreme Judicial Court.)
Despite what Naumann contends, it has become pretty well established that sexual predilection is innate. Most of us — and there are millions of us — were born to straight parents in an aggressively straight society. Homosexual acts were illegal, we were deemed by the scientific community as mentally ill, and the trappings of society and religion were devoted to the promotion of the married, heterosexual couple. Literature, films, TV, music, and advertising were, and still are, promulgating a cultural ideal of the straight couple. How can Naumann speak of “homosexual indoctrination’’ when, in spite of all the counterprogramming, so many of us are gay?
Unfortunately, it is the influence of people such as Naumann that drives gay kids to feel less a part of the world, and that leads to a sense of alienation, depression, and suicide. These young people need to know that they are not alone, and that they are loved for who they are.
People such as Lenk are simply doing what they do, becoming what they can become, and providing for all of us a sense that we belong.
Kathy Phillips
North Andover 
