Why do straights hate gays?

Gay activist and author Larry Kramer wrote an emotional open letter to the American public, which was published in Tuesday’s Los Angeles Times.

Kramer spoke last week at New York's Gay & Lesbian Centre, celebrating the 20th anniversary of ACT-UP, a grassroots AIDS organisation, and protesting the US military adherence to “Don’t Ask, Don’t tell” .

In a follow-up letter, Kramer asks Americans how they can stay silent on gay issues.

“Gays are hated. Prove me wrong,” he wrote.

“Your top general just called us immoral. Marine General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, is in charge of an estimated 65,000 gay and lesbian troops, some fighting for our country in Iraq."

“A right-wing political commentator, Ann Coulter, gets away with calling a straight presidential candidate a faggot. Even Garrison Keillor, of all people, is making really tacky jokes about gay parents in his column.”

“This, I guess, does not qualify as hate except that it is so distasteful and dumb, often a first step on the way to hate. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama tried to duck the questions that Pace's bigotry raised, confirming what gay people know: that there is not one candidate running for public office anywhere who dares to come right out, unequivocally, and say decent, supportive things about us."

"…You may say you don't hate us, but the people you vote for do, so what's the difference? Our own country's democratic process declares us to be unequal. Which means, in a democracy, that our enemy is you. You treat us like crumbs. You hate us. And sadly, we let you."

The letter was originally titled "A Letter to America's Heterosexuals" and re-titled by the LA times “Why do straights hate gays? An ageing 72-year-old man isn’t hopeful about the future”.

Blogger Andy Towle criticised the subediting decision as an insult to Kramer’s 30-year contribution to the gay community.

“Whether or not you agree with Kramer's approach, you would think that the paper could find a bit more respect in its description of the longtime activist,” Towle said.

“After all, his work with ACT UP was a major force in getting the AIDS epidemic the attention it deserved at crucial moments throughout the crisis. It's pretty sick that the LATimes chooses to write him off as 'an aging 72-year-old gay man.'"

Kramer has been a gay rights and HIV/AIDS advocate since early 1970s.

His 1978 novel, Faggots, is one of the best-selling gay novels of all time, but was criticised at the time by other gay activists for its graphic depiction of anonymous sex and recreational drug use.

Kramer lived in London for nine years between 1961 and 1970, where he co-produced and co-wrote the film Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.

Recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Award in Literature, Kramer was also honoured with a Public Service Award from US lobby group Common Cause.