The Liningers’ letter on June 24, decrying “liberals” for only caring about LGBTQ community members who are murdered while claiming that Christians who are shot are ignored, could not be further from the truth.

First, to address the Liningers’ belief that only 1/10 of 1 percent of Americans are LGBTQ is factually wrong. According to a 2015 Gallup poll, 3.8 percent of Americans identify as so. This equates to roughly 12 million people.

Second, supporting LGBTQ rights is not a liberal issue nor is it part of a larger liberal agenda. It is an issue of human rights, and no one regardless of their race, sexual orientation or religion deserves to be murdered.

Third, an essential aspect of the Constitution is personal freedom. By banning things such as gay marriage, government is inherently infringing upon personal liberty. Furthermore, as many people use religion as an excuse to discriminate against LGBTQ persons, the bible explicitly states in Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge, or you will be judged,” and in Romans 14:10 “Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.” A good Christian who follows Christ should attempt to follow his doctrine of love, hope, and faith.

If personal freedoms are to continue to exist, we must remember that as different as we may be, and however diverse our backgrounds and life experiences our, at the end of the day we are all human.

NATE MONTGOMERY

Coeur d’Alene