Clause 28

Your article on the erosion of civil liberties in Great Britain was timely and to the point (Part I, April 6). However, it contained one omission: It made no mention whatever of Clause 28, passed by Parliament last year.

Clause 28 forbids any use of government funds for purposes alleged to “promote homosexuality.” While the details of its enforcement have not fully evolved, the law has the potential--and in fact has already begun--to have a chilling effect on everything from libraries to AIDS education. Broadly interpreted, Clause 28 could be held to forbid public libraries to stock the works of Oscar Wilde, Noel Coward, T.E. Lawrence, etc. It amounts to a declaration by the British government that an entire class of people--gay men and lesbians--are unworthy of the right of free speech.

BRUCE MIRKEN

Los Angeles