Dear Sir,I write this open letter with some regret that I have not taken a public stand affirming the rights of gays and lesbians, before now. For many years, I have seen myself as one who supports the basic rights of “All God’s Children”, a passion that took some time to evolve within me.Growing up in Bermuda, like many others, I engaged in the tribal practice of “othering” those who might be different. This would have been a by-product of the colonial legacy of “othering”. In my circles at that time, those who were considered near the bottom of the scale were Jamaicans and Portuguese — “jump-ups and gees”. We referred to ourselves as “mos” or “spooks”. Whites were known as “codfish” or “scrubby dicks”. Those at the bottom of the hierarchy were gays who were called “queers”, a population whose circumstances forced them deep into the underground.As I matured, I came to love learning in the context of diversity. This included an enthusiasm for biology, through which I explored how “we are all wonderfully made”. The research project that I decided on for my master’s at Howard University was intended to explore some of the genetics of how a single cell evolves into a masterpiece. I never completed that grand project, although I learnt much from that exercise. Erskine “Buck” Burrows and Larry Tacklyn were sentenced to death a year after I had returned from school, and I had developed a deep sense of reverence of all life. You will see in my opinion piece published on December 2, 2015, that I was initially disappointed to find very limited community support for our anti-hanging campaign. Since Buck and Larry were some of the most “othered” in our society, it took a substantial push by our small group to turn the tide. This offers a lesson that notwithstanding appearances that a community can shift towards embracing caring for all.Every human birth is a miracle. Through nature and nurture, we are each so amazingly unique. Qazi Rahman, of the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College, London, pulls together a scientific perspective in his book Born Gay: The Psychobiology of Sex Orientation, co-written with Glenn Wilson, concluding that about 10 per cent of the world’s population is born with a gay orientation.Bermuda’s own Jean Howes made the point with Shirley Dill: “Who would choose to be gay?” That common-sense question puts things into perspective. Should this matter be decided by referendum? Can you imagine if the question of retaining segregation across the southern United States, which affected 12 per cent of the US population, had been decided by referendum? The collective wisdom of a century of global progress suggests that matters concerning minorities within a population are best addressed using the guidelines of international human rights standards and legal frameworks.Fellow residents, as this debate continues, let’s reflect carefully. We just may experience another shift towards embracing caring for all. GLENN FUBLER