In reference to the letter titled “Comic strip crosses line” (April 13), I disagree that Lynn Johnston is promoting homosexuality through her character Lawrence. “For Better or For Worse” presents in a nuanced way problems of everyday living and how characters make ethical decisions. Often the topics are sensitive, as when Elly Patterson faced an unplanned pregnancy and wasn’t happy about it.

Treating homosexuality as a taboo subject would not allow people to see it from various perspectives. When Lawrence’s friend Michael advises him to tell his parents, Lawrence is kicked out of his home, something that has happened to many homosexual teenagers. As an artistic medium, the story invites us to ponder the ethics of how people react to homosexuals and how they can grow to accept them.

Although homosexuality has been politicized, the comic strip is not dealing with it as a political or religious issue. Johnston was motivated to create this story by the callous attitude of Toronto authorities toward the murder of her gay friend Michael Boncoeur (https://web.archive.org/web/20110315090158/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/media/johnston.html). Back in 1993 when the strip about Lawrence was first created, 40 newspapers refused to print it (https://www.fborfw.com/features/lawrence/index.php?page=three). The Bowling Green Daily News is to be commended for allowing us to read and think about what was at the time a groundbreaking tale.

Mary Wolinski

Bowling Green