I was appalled to read Carlyle Potter's views on same-sex marriage ("Gays deserve equal rights," Readers' Forum, July 13). The issue of same-sex marriage is not only a complex issue, but it is a passionate one for many. None of us can say, or begin to say, that based on our own research gays deserve or do not deserve equal rights. The issue is simply too large for any human to decide.

Rather, it is my membership in the LDS Church that has helped me conclude that homosexuality is evil. Having seen the effects of homosexuality in the lives of others, I concur with the church when it asks its members to fight against gay marriage.

Opposing gay marriage does not mean I hate or discriminate against gays. But I hate the practice of homosexuality, since I see it ruins the lives of those I love.

B. Talbot

Orem