Letters to the editor

Props for Prop 8 coverage

Dear Editor:

Thank you for your very informative article on Proposition 8 (“Same Fate For Proposition 8,” The Sheet, June 8, page 9).

It was a great review on what has transpired with the proposition. Bringing awareness to Proposition 8 only helps to educate people that this is a civil and not a religious issue. Many of my straight friends in Mammoth don’t even know what Prop 8 is about. My heart sank the other day driving down Main St. seeing a bumper sticker on a car saying, “Yes on 8.”

Being a gay man in a stable loving relationship, I only wish that people could understand that being gay is not a choice. After all, straight people didn’t choose to be straight. You just are who you are. It’s just something you know. Well, that’s the same about being gay. Although living in a “straight society” many of us have a coming out process to discover who we really are and not what society wants us to be.

My partner of 8 years and I are one of the 18,000 California same-sex couples who took the opportunity to wed during that brief period when it was legal. Now I feel we are in limbo. We are married, but my best friend and his partner of 36 years can’t be. We got married not only because we both love each other and want to spend the rest of our lives together … we don’t need a marriage license for that. We did it because we wanted to show everyone that our love and commitment is just as real as anyone else’s.

Also there are countless rights that gays are denied as a result of this discriminatory measure. The proponents of Yes on 8 are religious-based. Let’s not forget that marriage is a civil right, not a religious right.

I consider myself to be a spiritual person. In my spiritual journey, God is love — no judgment or condemnation. I have read the Bible and have taken so much from it, knowing it was written by man, and translated and interpreted so many times over the centuries. But boy, I didn’t want to get into that. I respect everyone’s path to God. Just don’t use it to denounce others.

With so many religious beliefs, Christianity (that itself has so many branches), Judaism, Hindu, Buddhism, Muslim etc., my point is we need to respect all people and their paths to God, knowing they all have different beliefs.

I just want you to know that I am your neighbor. I own real estate in Mammoth, pay taxes, vote, serve on jury duty (even though I am considered a second- class citizen and not equal to you, I’ll decide if you are innocent or guilty in a court of law), served in the Navy, volunteer and give generously to charities. I even do Town Cleanup Day! So, why is it that I’m just like you in many ways, but not treated by society and the law the same?

Thank you to The Sheet for bringing awareness to Proposition 8. We are fighting for civil rights, just to be as equal as everyone else. You’ll find if you know a gay person, you’ll see that we really are just normal, loving beings.

So when you see a bumper sticker that says, “Yes on 8,” it’s someone who holds a belief that I’m not as good or capable of love as the rest of us. Nothing is going to change overnight. Gays are chiseling our way to equality. And when we finally get it, you’ll see … the world will be a better place.

Jeff Wilkie
Mammoth Lakes

I don’t get it

Dear Editor:

I am a temporary resident who plans to return this fall as a permanent resident. Having heard about this airport lawsuit over and over, I am shocked to never have heard one specific phrase; due diligence. If I were a developer who was about to sink money into any project, I would make damn sure that the project can in fact continue before it starts.

In this case, why does Mammoth have to pay well over the amount of the cost of improvements (hangars) to the airport as compensation when the burden of responsibility has always fallen on the developer?

At most Mammoth should repay the cost of the airport improvements but NO more.

Mike Riso
Mammoth Lakes

Editor’s reply: Mr. Riso, the contention of the plaintiffs was that the Town actively prevented them from ever having the opportunity to lose their asses (er, make a fortune) on a condo/hotel project at the airport in the first place by double dealing on a development agreement the Town never intended to honor.