"It has been a year of feminists at their funniest," she begins. "Ellen [DeGeneres] showed us hicks that homosexuals have an equal opportunity for lame television shows. As other stories began to creep into the news, DeGeneres charted new territory with an on-the-air lesbian kiss and then a hissy fit when Disney, motivated by sponsors dropping like flies, issued a warning before the show....Designer Gianni Versace's death at the hands of one of the gigolos brought to him courtesy of his lifestyle was an acceptable media substitute for Ellen for a few days." She later adds that, "Vice President Al Gore warmed up the glove with fuel for gay rights by praising DeGeneres, 'When the character Ellen came out, millions of Americans were forced to look at sexual orientation in a more open light.' 'Forced' is the operative word."

Presumably, Jennings is given this soapbox because "she is a professor of legal and ethical studies at Arizona State University." While a professorship might imply a desire for both accuracy and intelligence in her writing, Jenning's article displays neither.

It has been well established that ABC has always been able to fulfill sponsorship needs for Ellen since the title character's coming out. Sponsors, rather than "dropping like flies," continue to value the show both for its significant audience share and commitment to inclusiveness.

In addition, the concept that Versace's "lifestyle," brought on his death is baseless is a number of ways. There is no single gay "lifestyle," just as there is no one straight one. Cunanan killed a number of people, both gay and straight.

One wonders if Jennings feels that William Reese, the heterosexual, married New Jersey cemetery groundskeeper Cunanan killed prior to Versace brought death upon himself through his "lifestyle," which included owning a truck Cunanan used to escape.

By both manipulating half-truths and peddling complete falsehoods, Professor Jennings seems to feel it is ethical to make things up in order to justify her own anti-gay bias. In doing so, she discredits herself, the Deseret News and Arizona State University.

Let Jennings know that if she wants to attack gay people, she should at least get her facts straight first. Otherwise she looks both dishonest and ignorant. Also, encourage the Deseret News to feature columnists who have at least enough journalistic integrity to not tell lies to push their agendas.

Contact: … Marianne M. Jennings, e-mail: marianne.jennings@asu.edu; … Don
C. Woodward, Managing Editor, Deseret News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City,
UT 84110, fax: 801.237.2121, e-mail: letters@desnews.com.