Re “Seehusen Is Banished — 3-Minute Comments Will Be the Norm”
While watching the TV broadcast of the City Council on Monday night, I saw a deplorable attack on our First Amendment rights by all the members of the City Council when they fired Dee Seehusen, an 80-year-old woman, from the Landlord/Tenant Mediation Board for writing a letter to the editor!
Mrs. Seehusen was reacting to Karlo Silbiger's comments after he won election to the School Board. The issue of anyone in the campaign being gay had never been brought up. However, after Karlo won the election, it's as if he said, “Oh, by the way, I'm so proud to be gay.”
I don't think it would have made a difference if Karlo had announced his being gay at the beginning of the campaign.
But Mrs. Seehusen must have thought Karlo was being too smug.
She simply said that she didn't think Karlo or Kathy Paspalis would have won the election if he and Kathy had been more open and honest about their sexual orientation.
For this comment, Mrs. Seehusen was accused of being homophobic, encouraging gay bashing, and hate speech.
Mrs. Seehusen wrote the City Council and explained that she was not a homophobic and actually rented to gay tenants and found them to be very nice. Hardly the “threat” she was castigated to be.
The Council members seemed to nod off and dismiss her letter when it was read to them. They had already decided her fate before her letter was even read.
I believe the Council is setting a bad precedent by censoring and violating Mrs. Seehusen's First Ammendment rights.
In addition, Meghan Sahli-Wells, a candidate running for City Council, condemned Mrs. Seehusen and unjustly accused and implied that anyone who voted for Prop. 8 was homophobic.
Where will this unwarranted fear of homophobics everywhere lead us? Could it continue to further erose our freedom of speech and 1st Ammendment rights.
Please only publish my first name.
