Furor Over `Nightline’ Gay Series

Furor Over `Nightline’ Gay Series

NEW YORK (AP) – A planned « Nightline » series on homosexuals’ lives has caused a furor just from its title alone.

Since the weeklong special, « A Matter of Choice? Gay Life in America, » was announced Monday, dozens of homosexuals have contacted the program to complain.

It prompted « Nightline » executive producer Tom Bettag to post an explanation on the ABC News Web site. But he’s not changing the title of the report, tentatively scheduled for late September.

« Two months in advance, we’ve never had this kind of thing before, » Bettag said Thursday. « That the title and one punctuation point would raise this much controversy is really quite remarkable. »

Most activists believe that their sexual orientation is at least partly a matter of biology, not something they choose as a result of cultural or psychological influences.

« `A Matter of Choice?’ is an easy title that piques curiosity and stirs controversy, but it does so at the expense of the people it’s profiling, » said Cathy Renna of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

Bettag, in his posted response, said that although many homosexuals believe the question has been resolved, scientific and religious arguments remain.

« It is our job to ask the questions that make society examine itself, » he said.

ABC News has gotten anti-gay e-mails, Bettag said, including one person who wrote that if ABC talks about homosexual life, « we hope you will make it clear that this is evil. »

In the series, « Nightline » will examine teen-agers struggling with their sexual identity, the experiences of people in a homosexual retirement community and the aftermath of a gay community’s uprising after a hate crime in Roanoke, Va.

Renna said it’s just the sort of in-depth examination of homosexual life that GLAAD supports, but she’s concerned many people won’t watch it because they don’t like the title.

« It’s just really an unfortunate decision not to reconsider this title, » she said.