Who could oppose gay rights for ill boy's family?

Thank you for printing the story of Zyreal Oliver-Chandler ["Waiting for his future," NWMonday, June 15], the 7-year-old African-American boy afflicted with sickle-cell anemia.

While the story's main theme was the lack of minority-population participation in bone-marrow registries and how that adversely affects individuals in those minority communities like Zyreal, there were two very important subthemes coursing in the story.

One was that Zyreal is being raised in a loving, stable family consisting of two gay dads and another adopted sibling. Why supporters of Referendum 71, which would rescind Washington state's recently passed "everything but marriage" domestic-partnership law, would intentionally harm families like the Oliver-Chandler's is beyond my understanding and reeks of bigotry.

The other subtheme challenges the higher level of homophobia in the African-American community. What would Rev. Ken Hutcherson, the anti-gay, black preacher say to Zyreal about the only two parents he has known?

-- Leo N. Egashira, Seattle

Obama not delivering change
on 'don't ask, don't tell'

I'm sure I am not the only gay veteran who welcomes your urging of President Obama to take action on his campaign promise to end the outdated "don't ask, don't tell" policy of the U.S. military ["Don't dawdle on 'don't ask, don't tell,'" editorial, June 15].

Not only is he not taking action, but the U.S. Justice Department, under his authority, is actually defending policy in a case filed in California. Even more offensive to the LGBT community is the Obama Justice Department's defense of the Defense Of Marriage Act, signed into law by Bill Clinton and promised to be repealed by President Obama.

So many of us had hopes of change; change from following public opinion to leading it; change from the hypocrisy of telling people what they want to hear on the campaign trail then doing what is convenient when holding the reigns of power.

Clinton thought his midnight signature on both of these anti-gay, discriminatory pieces of legislation would pass with time, but they haunt him still.

We had hoped President Obama would not only have the courage to do what is right but the intelligence to learn from history. We shall continue to hope, and we shall continue to remember.

-- Bill Dubay, Seattle