I'd like this thread to focus on its topic. Every time it is used as an opportunity to call someone names, the focus is shifted away from the topic - which I feel is very serious and deserves your attention. This is not an opportunity to bash religion and I do not want it to spend any time on anyone who disagrees with the topic. Now that I've got that out of the way, I want to share something with you.
As I mentioned before, I grew up in a house where my mom was blind and deaf and, for fear of loneliness, she followed the lead of a church which taught that being gay was a sin. My childhood was one spent in fear. Once, I was caught holding hands with another boy and spent about a year being mercilessly teased. My brother told me that if anyone in his family was gay, he'd kill that person. My other brother told me that if his son was gay, he'd kick him out of the house to be homeless. Not only was I surrounded by this church, but it ran a school which I was forced to attend. A student at that school ended up killing a gay guy who made a pass at him and is now serving time in prison. The overwhelming majority of my waking life was spent surrounded by these people. The fear was so intense that I told no one when I was sexually molested by an older person because I thought people would think I was gay.
This fear was re-awakened in me about a year ago when my younger cousin, who is gay, was chased by some kids from his high school. A week earlier, a gay kid who went to his school was put in the critical care ward of his local hospital after being assaulted for being gay.
Some people claim that being gay is a choice. It is not. No one would choose that kind of life. I've been in and out of counseling my entire adult life and I've spent time in a mental hospital and, I've discovered, other homosexuals (men and women) who grew up in the environment I grew up in have spent time hospitalized as well. But, I don't want to talk about myself here. We all (you and me) have scars. What I want to talk about is gay youth growing up today.
Researchers at the Children's Hospital in Boston found that gay and lesbian high schoolers are eight times more likely to be homeless than straight teens. Further, these gay homeless teens were more likely to be without their parents. Heather Corliss of the Hospital's adolescent and young adult medicine division (who ran the study) says, "Teens with a sexual minority orientation are more likely than heterosexual teens to be unaccompanied and homeless rather than part of a homeless family. This suggests that they may be more likely to be mistreated or rejected by their families and more likely to leave home."
Of course, once homeless, they face greater degrees of drug abuse, greater lack of security and health problems, and so forth than straight teens.
Its worth noting that this study was done in Boston. Massachusetts is more gay-friendly than most states. These statistics are likely to be more dire in other states.
But child homelessness is only one of the concerns I'd like to talk about. Another one is mental disorders and suicide. LGBT youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers and, according to a 2009 study by Dr. Caitlin Ryan as part of the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University, adolescents who were rejected by their families for being LGBT are 8.4 times more likely to report having attempted suicide. Homosexuals are four times as likely to suffer major depression than heterosexuals, three times more likely to suffer mood disorders, and about 2.5 times more likely to suffer anxiety disorders. I think we all know about this, but its not something we like to spend time thinking about.
This is Christmas. Its a time for children to be happy. If you're still reading this, I'd like you to help join in with me and make a contribution to a charity of your choice for children and teenagers - kids who haven't been as fortunate as you and I. One of those charities is PFLAG (parents and friends of lesbians and gays) - an organization designed to provide support to families with gay members. Another such organization is the Inside/Out Youth Services of Colorado. You can find their link here. The Inside/Out Services has arranged for homes for homeless gay teens, provides anti-bullying education, offers gay teens a recreation center where they can relax and find support, etc. Whatever charity you decide to donate to is your choice, but I do ask you to consider providing support for those kids who haven't been as fortunate as you and I. That would be the best Christmas gift I could get this year - if everyone here were to give to charity to help a kid out there somewhere who needs some help.
