This week's Letters in The Impartial Reporter.

Letter of The Week!

Sharing sadness over language used about our LGBT+ citizens

Dear Sir,

The letter, ‘Objecting to the first Fermanagh Pride event’ (Impartial Reporter, September 5) caused me concern.

Clergy and Church members should surely look at their own sin before castigating vulnerable LGBT+ minority groups.

My own evangelical tradition is stained by dreadful abuse cases.

Furthermore, heterosexual sex underlies an abortion genocide, claiming around one human life per second.

Sectarianism and religious prejudice spawned The Troubles, and both mainstream Church traditions bear responsibility for how the conflict developed.

Modern society in the United Kingdom and Ireland is presently blighted by drink, drugs, murder, violence, corruption.

Nothing can beat the ecstatic thrill of discovering the spiritual truth revealed in the life, death, resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Creation, Christ, conscience points us to the great New Testament truths for which the evidence is utterly convincing.

The offer of forgiveness is presented to all, and available to all, with God’s express hope being that none should perish.

We are all sinners in need of a saviour: whether gay or straight.

I would wish to express sadness to LGBT+ community members at the tone of last week’s letter.

The five-word invitation of Our Lord applies to all: “Seek and you will find”.

Yours faithfully,

Name and address with Editor.

Objecting to how a story was recently covered

Dear Sir,

We take issue with the article (‘Protestors picket business of Enniskillen Pride Grand Marshal ahead of parade’) in last week’s Impartial Reporter as it is full of inaccuracies.

The journalist did not speak with us before writing the article. Here are the facts.

1. We did not know Joe Mahon was to be the Grand Marshall of the parade.

2. We did not picket his hotel.

3. We chose that spot because it was a good vantage point to display our petition and for no other reason.

4. We have not picketed any events organised by Fermanagh Pride.

5. We were in Irvinestown seeking signatures for our petition against Fermanagh Pride. We were not picketing or protesting.

The Impartial Reporter states that it is “committed to accurate reporting”.

Let readers decide, in the light of that article, just how committed you are to “accurate reporting”.

Yours faithfully,

Francis and Susan-Anne White

Thank you to all who supported these collections

Dear Sir,

Guide Dogs NI would like to say a massive thank-you to Erne Vintage Car Club for allowing them to benefit from the proceeds of the street collection at the Vintage Parade Enniskillen on Friday, August 16.

The generosity of the public and the commitment of our volunteers saw a wonderful total of £6,330 being raised on the day.

If you would like to find out more about volunteering, or supporting guide dogs, please contact me, Gary Wilson, Fundraising Manager, at gary.wilson@guidedogs.org.uk.

Yours faithfully,

Gary Wilson,

Fundraising Manager,

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association

Dear Sir,

Friends of the Cancer Centre (Fermanagh Fundraising Group) wish to thank all those who supported our street collection in Enniskillen on August 15.

We raised a fantastic £1,079.66.

Once again, we are overwhelmed and greatly appreciate the ongoing support and generosity of our local community.

Thanks to our many dedicated volunteers, who gave their time freely and willingly to support cancer patients and their families.

Yours faithfully,

Geraldine Corrigan,

Chairperson,

Friends of the Cancer Centre,

Fermanagh Fundraising Group.

Speaking out in the defence of XL Bully dogs

Dear Sir,

I wanted to send some thoughts on the recent XL Bully debate, in the eyes of an animal science student who has worked in local rescues and dog fostering for years.

Media outlets tend to focus on three themes: the XL genetics, XL Bully personal experiences, and the ‘nature vs nurture’ debate.

While yes, these are valid points when speaking about canine behaviour, they are glossing over the predominant issue.

The angle that the media focuses on places full responsibility on the dog. The articles I have seen either praise the XL for being ‘a big softy’, or vilify it for being dangerous.

This is a recurring theme – one which does not acknowledge that humans have cultivated this particular breed and its behaviour, along with every other canine.

I would suggest that the media attack the true issue at hand, and see this all – the recent XL attacks and human deaths – for what it really is: the tragic consequences caused by decades of lax animal breeding and ownership laws.

The problem has gotten so bad that human lives are now being affected due to the negligence of the government in breeding and ownership regulation.

Focusing on the breed is a superficial fix to a decades-old problem of lax animal welfare laws.

Breed-specific legislation has never worked, and it will not magically start to work now.

People must choose to see this for what it really is: not a new, dangerous breed that is suddenly aggressive, but the consequence of decades of poor legislation and irresponsible ownership.

It is unproductive and unfair to blame the XL Bully breed for years of negligence from the government and regular law makers, as well as unsuitable owners.

Yours faithfully,

Éabha Kelly

A number of our terrific Letter of the Week winners have yet to come forward to collect their £10 Enniskillen Gift Cards.

As the cards expire by the year’s end, if you’ve previously been a winner but have yet to claim your great card, get in touch as soon as possible; please email us today at: letters@impartialreporter.com.