Gay Parenting -- Real Issue Is Not Gender, But Morals, Love, Devotion

In his muddled argument against putting books about families with gay parents in school libraries, Mr. Aaron Schwitters asks, "When two same-sex parents raise a child, what will the child be like later in life?" - implying that same-sex parents somehow produce immoral or "psychologically" unhealthy children.

I would remind Mr. Schwitter that the track record for opposite-sex parents in this regard is not very attractive. A host of history's most evil and monstrous men - Timothy McVeigh, Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and more - were all products of opposite-sex parents.

By Mr. Schwitter's logic, it is opposite-sex parents we should fear, not same-sex parents. The real issue is not the gender of one's parents, but the morals, love and devotion they bring to the task of parenting - factors that have nothing to do with gender or sexuality.

Teaching our children that simple fact is a big step toward helping them overcome prejudice and see the real value in all families - the very reason we need books about diverse families in our schools in the first place. In his convoluted analysis, with its strange fixation on sex, Mr. Schwitter clearly misses this simple point.

Erik Strommen

Kirkland