Throughout the county there are members of my community gathering signatures for I-677, the initiative that would ban job discrimination based on sexual-orientation.

Many heterosexuals do not believe that they will benefit from its passage.

The initiative will prevent reverse discrimination. For example, affirmative action set up preferential quotas based on race. Proposition 206 banned quotas based on race. The courts upheld this proposition because such quotas are a form of reverse discrimination.

Under current law (Herald article June 10) if you are sexually harassed or molested on the job by a person of the same sex there is nothing the law can do about it.

A heterosexual would be punished for harassing a person of the opposite sex while a person of the same sex would not be punished. This is discrimination based soley on sexual-orientation.

Initiative 677 will benefit both of our communities by telling our employers that discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation is wrong and will not be accepted.

Sign I-677 and help provide safe and secure employment for all workers regardless of their sexual-orientation.

Sheila L Richardson