Re “Gay group backs Fauver for District 6” (news, Oct. 14):

Isn’t it strange that Steve Brodie claims he has all this support but no one wants to give him any money for his campaign? You get what you pay for.

In response to Steve Brodie’s comment on gay bars not being in our neighborhoods, I would like to remind him that the bars were there before the influx of straight residents looking for intown living. To slam Anne Fauver for voting to diminish nightlife and then backtrack on his earlier statement is pathetic.

G.E. nod has its limitations
Re “Endorsements no guarantee for gay candidates” (news, Oct. 21):

Great idea to cover what GLBT endorsements do and don’t do for GLBT candidates and incumbents. When both Victory Fund and Georgia Equality endorsed Atlanta City Councilwoman Anne Fauver, many thought the race was over. But the results hinges on voter turnout. Gay voters are great at demanding actions from their elected officials, but we turn out in fewer numbers than almost any other group.

So, what exactly does a Georgia Equality endorsement get an openly gay candidate? They don’t donate a lot of money, because they don’t have any. They don’t generate a lot of volunteers, because their own volunteer events are sparsely attended.

Straight support for gay foster parents
Re “Gay foster kids in Ga. difficult to place in homes” (news, Oct. 21):

People need to grow up and give everyone a chance. I don’t care if you’re straight as an arrow or like people of the same sex, everybody deserves to have a family and be loved. Half the people who are gay were born that way, and that’s not a bad thing. Those kids deserve love and a family to care for them.

The branding of Atlanta may cause indigestion
Re “Atlanta’s brand touts ‘openness’” (news, Oct. 21):

Has anyone considered that the road to achieving equality for gay men and women may be shorter if we deprive the city of gay commerce? We have been spending for years, yet how much of that openness and opportunity that Mayor Shirley Franklin is touting have we seen?

I guess “The ATL” sounds better than “My Lanta!”

An issue of marriage or of immigration?
Re “Bi-national couple separated by politics” (news, Oct. 21):

This couple should have moved to Canada in the first place. Neither of them is American. What rights should these people have exactly? It is not a marriage issue; it is immigration. Time for some gay people to simply grow up and stop believing they are entitled to do whatever they want.

A straight couple could have avoided all of these dangers, and this couple’s horrible experience, with a simple pair of “I do’s.” The world is becoming a smaller place and this issue will only get bigger. The U.S. is already behind 17 other countries, which do recognized same-sex couples for immigration. Some leader of the free world we are.

Ins and outs of celebrity closets
Re “Out, out damn celebs!” (editorial by Kevin Naff, Oct. 21):

Maybe people like Anderson Cooper, Shepard Smith and Jodie Foster think that what happens in their bedroom should stay in their bedroom. It’s no one’s business what they do in their private time, and keeping it private is their way of making a “statement.”

Much as I despise Fox News, it’s pretty despicable to out Shepard Smith. The audacity of Kevin Naff feeling it’s every public person’s duty to state clearly and for the record their sexual preference is ridiculous. What gives Naff the right to make that decision for every other gay person?

I am so happy someone finally wrote about this hypocrisy. By denying or “not wanting to talk about it,” a celebrity is saying there’s something wrong with being gay. I am all for privacy, but the perfect response is, “Yes I am, and I am also very private about my personal life.”

TV anchors and reporters who stick to their jobs should be allowed their privacy. But celebrity-seeking Anderson Cooper should clearly expect such scrutiny.

Thank you, thank you, Kevin Naff. It’s a disservice to every gay teenager for Anderson Cooper to promote the idea that you can’t do your job if you come out. I’m sorry if he is still afraid.

Is this Kevin Naff’s whole deal, being gay? Some of us prefer privacy and not to hide. Some of us would prefer not to be defined by our sexual choices or to lead with our crotches.