Letter: Film tries to validate destructive lifestyle

Friday, Jan. 6, 2006 | 8:09 a.m.

I agree with letter writer Jon Halbur that the movie "Brokeback Mountain" is beautifully shot and brilliantly acted. However, his statement that "it's a proven fact that at least 10 percent of the population is gay" is simply a well-circulated myth. The 10 percent figure comes from faulty research by Alfred Kinsey in the 1940s where he mainly studied sex offenders in prison. Gay activist groups have done a good job promoting this figure, but it's not so.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, only 2.3 percent of men claim to be homosexual. The University of Chicago's "Social Organization of Sexuality" study puts it at 2 percent.

My problem with the movie is that it attempts to legitimize a lifestyle that is terribly self-destructive. Gay men have tragically high rates of psychiatric illness, substance abuse and suicide, and their life expectancy is 20 years less than the general population. Hardly what I consider gay in the other meaning of the word. I speak from studies but I also have firsthand experience. My brother is gay and has had a ton of problems like this and it breaks my heart. I wouldn't wish this lifestyle on anyone.

Gary Strabala

Las Vegas