I was dismayed and saddened by the letter printed Dec. 21, “Crammed.”

As a mother and a grandmother I am proud to love my children unconditionally and support their own decisions about their sexuality.

As a retired teacher, PTA member and GSA volunteer I have to tell you that I don’t know any gay, lesbian or transgender people who want to recruit. The sad truth is that children who don’t feel that they have a place in society because they don’t conform to gender norms need a GSA (a gay straight alliance) so they learn that there are people who will accept them before they turn to drugs, or suicide.

We are trying to save lives because we know, having grown up in the bad old days, what it’s like to feel alone and like a round peg in a square hole.

There have been gay people in every culture and throughout all periods of history, and your fear and hatred is not going to help anyone be a productive member of society, feel loved for who they are, and certainly will not change them if they are not already attracted to the “opposite” sex.

If you look at the statistics of abuse it is “straight men,” especially family members, who have fetishized youth that put all our children at risk.

Anita Latch

Tacoma