Morality

Gay-rights groups are battling over whether to seek an amendment providing a right to same-sex marriage under the California Constitution on the 2010 ballot. But these groups might want to look beyond marriage and consider whether they even have a secure right to intimacy in the bedroom. They probably thought they won that debate when, in 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court in Lawrence vs. Texas instructed states not to interfere with gay people's private sex lives. To an astonishing degree, however, lower courts across the country are essentially ignoring the Supreme Court's ruling.

The young couple are totally busted. They sit at a beach-side park, near signs forbidding teens from sitting too close. He has his arm around her shoulder. She isn't wearing her jilbab , the traditional Islamic head scarf. Just like that, the morality cops are in their face. "You two aren't married, right?" asks Syafruddin, the rail-thin leader of the six-man patrol, standing stiffly, one hand behind his back. "So you shouldn't sit next to one another." He separates the two and confiscates their IDs. Later, he says, the team will open an investigation of the couple, especially seeing as the young man lied, at first insisting the girl was his sister.

Re "Madoff an outrage to L.A.'s Jewish," Dec. 24 Bernard L. Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme is not only an outrage to L.A.'s Jews but to all people. All religions have one thing in common: They are made up of human beings. Individuals like Madoff exist in all religions. We must guard against those who would violate the code of human morality, no matter what religious group they belong to. David Hertz Tarzana

Re "Death row futility," editorial, Feb. 23 The Times questions "the morality of state-sponsored killing." How about the morality of spontaneous, senseless killing? Or any intentional killing, for that matter? Any human can lose his or her physical possessions or other assets and recover, but losing one's life is irrevocable. Given that fact, it's hard to argue that the murderer should not atone with the loss of his or her life. The Times feels that capital punishment is inhumane.

Re " 'Inner light' lessons burn parents," April 14 I volunteer from time to time for Spirituality for Kids. There is nothing "religious" about it -- unless you think that teaching children how to improve the quality of their lives is religious. As morality is lost in our culture, what is wrong with teaching moral values in the schools? What is wrong with teaching kids to listen to the voice in their head that tells them they can do it, go for it, or do the right thing? For most of us, that voice is a lot softer than the one that tells us we can't, and we aren't good enough, and to be selfish.

Re "Reviving the Republican Party," Opinion, July 16 This Op-Ed article reinforces my opinion of why so many "decent, moral, honorable" folks have left the GOP. The author implies that people with those values are Republicans. Huh? Democrats and independents don't have those values? If Republicans want to govern, they might try competence, integrity, compassion, respect for equality, civility and a list too long to mention. They sure have mastered hypocrisy, though. Susie Diwald Mar Vista -- What a wonderful breath of fresh air from Douglas MacKinnon.

WITH regard to Glenn Kenny's article on the ending of "No Country for Old Men" ["Coen Country Is Tricky Terrain," Jan. 11]: What a bunch of malarkey! From an old died-in-the-wool writer who was brought up on the beginning/middle/end, three-act structure school, Scott Rudin and the Coen brothers failed miserably to offer up reasonable fare. There are 10,000 members of the Writers Guild, any of whom I'm sure could have written a smarter denouement between the clash of the titans (Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones)

Re "$1 million from teachers union to oppose Prop. 8," Oct. 17 I am furious that the California Teachers' Assn. has donated $1 million in opposition to Proposition 8. The CTA's mandate is to promote issues of teacher and student welfare, not to issue edicts on morality. I teach English. When parents have concerns about the morality of a book, I defer to the family's values. Yet the CTA dares to define morality for me, for my students and ultimately for all families in the state.

Paul Zak scanned the UCLA computer lab where 18 young men were tapping away at keyboards. Some of the students had been administered a dose of testosterone the evening before. Now, Zak was monitoring their behavior as they played an experimental game designed to measure trust. He was curious about how these hormonally fueled "alpha" males would behave. Would they be more selfish or generous? Helpful or aggressive?