Tempest in Texas

Blind intolerance of homosexuals may never be eradicated. But it can be reduced if people in authority are not intolerant themselves, and if people who see such prejudice occurring speak out against it. Groups in Texas have done just that, and their protest has brought results.

In Dallas last month, Judge Jack Hampton of the Texas District Court gave a murderer 30 years in prison rather than a life sentence because the young man’s two victims were homosexual. “I put prostitutes and gays at about the same level,” he said, “and I’d be hard put to give somebody life for killing a prostitute.” He added that the two men “wouldn’t have been killed if they hadn’t been cruising the streets picking up teen-age boys.”

Gay-rights groups immediately protested the judge’s action and his comments, and the state’s commission on judicial conduct has scheduled an inquiry. The judge has now apologized for his words, adding, “I did not mean to condemn the homosexual community generally.”

The state inquiry will continue, as well it should. But the civil-liberties groups that spoke up about the judge’s insensitive comments have already demonstrated the leadership that must constantly be employed to combat such ignorance.