Dr. Laura outed me - radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger - Brief Article

As the former chief engineer for Dr. Laura Schlessinger's radio show, I must clarify a few things. First, about my sexual orientation: I've been a card-carrying member of the gay community since long before Stonewall. But until Laura outed me in the February 15 Advocate cover stow, it had never been talked about in print. Second, about Laura's planned TV show:

Ever since she appeared in The Advocate, I've been bombarded with telephone calls from friends and former business associates who know I'm the gay chief engineer she talked about in the article. Many express fear that her TV show, planned to begin airing this fall, will give Laura another outlet to spread her peculiar and virulent strain of homophobia. I'll tell you what I've been telling them: Fear not, my friends. Judging from my experience with Laura and TV, it is highly unlikely that her program will ever see the light of daytime.

Hosting a daily radio show is a lot less time-consuming than hosting a daily TV show. Research for Laura's radio show includes, for the most part, reading she can do with her morning tea. Her pre- and postshow time is spent mostly on mail or phone calls having little to do directly with the show. I've known her to come dashing into the studio at the last minute, even as her theme music was playing.

Not that Laura is a slacker. Far from it. She is one of the smartest and hardest-working people I know. Her plate is always full. She is up early every morning writing, exercising, getting her son, Deryk, off to school.

But television requires a large staff, preparation, coordination, meetings, rehearsals, and makeup. And I don't think Laura will have time for it all. When it hits her full on just how much time she will lose from Deryk--and that she won't have total control over the show but will be subjected to the whims of some executive young enough (but not bright enough) to be her son--she will want out.

Lastly, about Laura's evolving beliefs regarding homosexuality: Laura and I hit it off when we first started working together 11 years ago. I was quite honest with her right away and told her I was gay. She said she already knew. (Why do people always say that to me?)

At any rate, Laura also told me that she had taught human sexuality courses at the University of Southern California and that homosexuality was just another aspect of human behavior. There was no talk of "biological mistakes" or "deviancy" at that time. As a matter of fact, she believed strongly that everyone had a right to be in a loving relationship.

The last time I talked with Laura about gay marriage, she was not opposed to gays' being legally united; she just didn't think it should be called marriage. She even favored gay adoption, saying it was better that a child be raised by two loving adults, regardless of their sexual orientation.

When it came to so-called reparative therapy, I was helping Laura with an article for her newsletter that exposed this "cure for homosexuality" as the nonsense that it is. We hadn't finished the article, though, by the time her show was purchased by Premiere Radio Networks and I was let go, almost 2 1/2 years ago.

Laura has obviously changed her views on homosexuality since we worked together, but I do believe she is sincere when she says it is because of her conversion to Orthodox Judaism. The person you hear on the radio is Laura. There is no persona.

I would just remind her of an argument she used to use against the literal interpretation of the Bible. Such an interpretation, she often pointed out, would go so far as to forbid any man from using a chair she had sat in while menstruating. Isn't it equally as unrealistic for all people to be constrained by the religious laws adhered to by one sect of Judaism? Would she now have us all stop eating pork?

Needless to say, I am directly opposed to Laura's newfound views about my sexual orientation. Despite the source of her convictions, I don't believe any one religion or umbrella term such as Judeo-Christian should dictate the laws of a free society.

Metzler engineered The Dr. Laura Program for 6 1/2 years.

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