Lee Cataluna is skeptical of U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s sincerity in declaring that she “evolved” from her hateful talk during what Cataluna described as her history of passionate, organized, strategized homophobia and rabid advocacy of “traditional” marriage (“Despite the masking, the words are still there,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 16).

As one who has and continues to passionately endorse traditional marriage, I am fearful of the trend to ascribe “hate” to an individual’s expression of conscience, should it happen to run against a popular social justice opinion. Thankfully, at least for the near-term, freedom of speech remains constitutionally protected, and with free speech comes freedom of conscience.

While slinging slurs can be rhetorically expeditious in marginalizing opposing ideas, it pales as a substitute for civil discourse and tolerance in the public square.

David Beers

Waipahu

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