Police at Gay/Lesbian Event Lauded

Re coverage of the 1991 Orange County Gay/Lesbian Pride Festival (“Gay Pride Celebration Opens With Police Officers, Without Controversy,” Aug. 18): As a Cypress resident for 27 years, I’ve always held the city’s police in high esteem. My respect doubled this weekend, however, because representatives of the Cypress Police Department and their counterparts from Buena Park, Garden Grove, UC Irvine, Laguna Beach and Placentia staffed an information booth at last weekend’s Gay Pride Festival at UCI.

The police need to actively cultivate and maintain the support of all citizens--not just a few--to live up to the “protect and serve” motto behind the badge. The officers’ presence at the UCI event is another step toward increased understanding between the law enforcement and the gay/lesbian communities, long known for being mutual adversaries.

Also, the officers’ attendance sends two clear signals. First, more police officers--like many others in our society--will hopefully look inward to examine the meaning of being a man or a woman. Such analyses lead to recognizing, among other things, the rights of all people to choose partners of either gender. Second, more lesbians and gays will hopefully see that the police need their cooperation, too!

KELLI BOND

Cypress