Readers write (May 2): Mobile phones, marriage amendment, Minnesota Public Radio, class-action lawsuits, seasonal love

I laughed when I read the techno-Luddite editorial in the Star Tribune bemoaning that Apple and Google phones "track" their owner's location ("Answers needed on technology breaches," April 29).

Dah! Buy any phone with a GPS in it, and what do you think it's going to do? You suppose it might calculate where you are? Maybe, because if it didn't you'd return it as defective!

Do you have a Garmin GPS in your car? If so, guess what? It tracks your location also. That's why you bought it.

But did you know it also can keep track of your maximum speed? That's right.

Picture this: You get pulled over for speeding, and the officer instructs you to show him that page on your dashboard GPS. It says your top speed was 81.6 miles per hour. Gotcha! Busted by your own GPS!

The point is, folks: If you want the benefits of the new technology, you also need to recognize there could be some possible drawbacks, without which you don't realize the benefits.

And, like always, the Star Tribune suggests more government-based solutions may be necessary ...

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The recent momentum in the House and Senate toward a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage reminded me of a conversation I had with my 70-year-old grandmother when I came out to her.

She told me that she believed that most people were not afraid of my being gay, but rather that they just weren't ready to be OK with it.

I thought about all the times I'd heard someone say, "I don't have a problem with it, but I don't want to see two girls kissing," and I realized that she was probably right and that, given time, those people would adapt and shrug it off.

Right now, I can wait for them to adapt and learn to shrug -- I'm young and healthy, and I have a family that loves me.

No one is asking anyone opposed to gay marriage to change their personal opinion. We're just asking you to put aside your discomfort and realize that the civil rights and responsibilities of marriage are crucial on a purely pragmatic and legal level to all committed couples.

We know you might not be comfortable with the idea. That's OK. But just as it isn't fair to ask your neighbor not to cut down a tree in their yard because you're not ready to have your view changed, please don't ask us to wait for the legal protections we so desperately need!

KELLY REICH, BLOOMINGTON

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I believe in traditional marriage, on religious grounds as well as common-sense procreation needs. I also believe that Minnesota discriminates against gays and lesbians in the benefits it provides legally married couples.

I don't claim political affiliation -- I don't care which side a person is on -- in America we shouldn't be denying people rights unless they've broken the law or have done something justifying the denial.

Homosexuality is not a crime, and we shouldn't treat it that way. To me, if a person is gay and in a committed relationship, they should receive all the rights that my wife and I enjoy under Minnesota law.

TIM JOHNSON, MINNEAPOLIS

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In the April 28 article "Facing GOP majorities, MPR presses its case," state Sen. Chris Gerlach, R-Apple Valley, is quoted as asking: "If [MPR] weren't [biased in favor of liberals], why is there broad-based perception nationwide that they are?"

Which is opposite the shrieking, lie-perpetuating blather the world associates with conservative news outlets?

BRENDA HENNEN, MINNEAPOLIS

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I hope certain Tea Party supporters noticed, in a section of the newspaper they might not ordinarily read, what the Republican-dominated Supreme Court has done to them (Business, April 28).

In essence, the court has ruled that companies can now effectively exempt themselves from class-action suits, and hide behind exploitative arbitration clauses to "resolve" consumer and employee complaints.

To add to the insult, a lawyer representing banking interests said, "The only people who do well in the class-action suits are the lawyers."

Don't accept that nonsense, unless you enjoy fighting through the arbitration process on your own. Certainly, lawyers make lots of money in successful class-action suits, but I have also received at least some money from a couple of those suits.

I didn't even know they were taking place until a notice came that all I had to do was click a response on the computer to get a check.

Those days might be gone now, because conservative justices appointed by conservative presidents, whose campaigns were paid for by conservative and big-moneyed interests, are in the majority.

JIM BARTOS, BROOKLYN PARK

Like a cheating lover who's been away too long, been with someone else, been somewhere else, and then returns, thinking you'll be happy, grateful -- I hate you, spring!

JERRY POPE, ST. LOUIS PARK

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