I am afraid of my wicked heart. Fear takes hold of me.

Lord, I am vile. Unnatural, filthy lust is stirring in me. I desire to abhor myself. Oh that I could.

-- April 5, 1653
   Michael Wigglesworth, a young Puritan minister at Harvard College

Imagine you are a kid with a secret. A secret you can't even tell anyone in your family because you are afraid they won't love you anymore. Imagine you are the only one in the world with this "problem", or so you think. You have nobody to talk to and nowhere to go to seek support.

That's what it's like to grow up gay. That's why one out of three teen suicides involve kids struggling with issues of sexual orientation.

Finally there is some progress being made in this area, but only after much protest. Gay and lesbian characters are showing up on television. Openly gay or lesbian people are running for and being elected to public office. Gay and lesbian kids today have a better chance of not feeling like they are "the only one".

But there is still a long way to go before American society treats gays and lesbians equal to heterosexuals. Anti-gay violence is at an all-time high coinciding with the right-wing campaign to convince America that gays and lesbians can choose to change if they just accept Jesus. In many states, people can be fired from their jobs just because they are gay or lesbian.

Here are my views on commonly debated questions of equal rights for gays and lesbians.

If society is seen to condone homosexuality through granting equal rights, aren't we encouraging people to become homosexual?
You can't encourage someone to become homosexual any more than you can encourage someone to become left handed. Some people just are. Think about it: Almost all homosexuals are born to heterosexual parents. In the past, homosexuality was not a topic of discussion, or if it was, it was discussed only in a negative manner. Still there are millions of homosexuals. Obviously being encouraged or discouraged has nothing to do with it. It is not a learned trait. People can learn to suppress their feelings, but in doing so will be unhappy and unfulfilled.

But the Bible says...
The Bible says a lot of things. Many people view the Bible as a collection of stories and events meant to teach in broad terms how to be a good person rather than a step by step recipe for how we must live. It is possible to take nearly any philosophy and find citations in the Bible that can be interpreted to support it. In Leviticus, homosexuality is discussed right along with other prohibitions such as eating certain foods, mixing certain fabrics in clothing, and certain crop planting practices. Leviticus is only applicable to Jews. If you are not Jewish, you needn't worry about anything mentioned there. If you are Jewish and you do not keep kosher or honor each and every one of the prohibitions in Leviticus, why should you choose this one to especially focus on? If you are Christian, Jesus never said anything in the New Testament about homosexuality. What he did say is that we are to love our neighbors and not to judge each other. Finally, there are ideologies other than western religions and the United States should not make laws based on religious dogma but rather individual freedom to live life as one likes as long as the rights of others are not being denied.

Gays are child molesters.
This sort of inflammatory propaganda is often used to cause a knee-jerk vilification of gays. When children are abused and molested, in the great majority of cases it is by a heterosexual adult male, usually a relative of the child.

Gays spread AIDS.
AIDS can be spread by anyone. Heterosexual transmission to women is very common. It appears that having unprotected sex with men is what carries the risk, not the sex or the sexual orientation of a man's partner. Since lesbians are at a very low risk of transmitting HIV to each other sexually, using the spread of this disease as a reason to deny equal rights to homosexuals doesn't make much sense.

What about those treatment programs that change homosexuals into heterosexuals?
These "healing ministries" use methods such as behavior modification, aversion therapy, and role modeling to try to turn gays and lesbians into heterosexuals. Their results are not long-lasting, and they can cause psychological damage. The American Psychological Association strongly advises against these programs, recommending instead that unhappy homosexuals seek proper therapy to become better adjusted rather than trying to change into something they are not.

Gays recruit. That's why they want children to be taught about the gay lifestyle in the schools.
Some children are homosexual. Every homosexual adult was once a homosexual child. It's not about recruitment, it's about giving kids information that they need in order to understand themselves. Pretending something doesn't exist does not actually deter it. Children who are homosexual usually feel isolated and alone, and affirming that they can be happy, healthy members of society would go a long way in easing their pain. It would also help if there were some public recognition of the many figures throughout history who are known to have been gay. Furthermore, being gay is not something as trivial as a "lifestyle". Playing golf on Wednesdays and hiking on weekends is a lifestyle.

Gays want special rights.
What we want are the same rights afforded to heterosexuals. We want to be safe from physical violence; protected from discrimination in employment, housing, and military service; free from laws that criminalize our consensual sexual activity; and to have our committed relationships recognized under the law. These are all things heterosexuals take for granted. Several things could be done about these issues, but there is heavy opposition.

It is already illegal to commit violence against anybody.
True, but the federal Hate Crimes law imposes stiffer penalties for violence motivated by hate of certain classes of people. Current classes include racial and ethnic minorities. Extending the classes specified to include sexual orientation would address violence based on real or perceived sexual orientation.

Isn't it illegal to discriminate with regard to hiring, firing, and promotions?
Not everywhere. Several cases have been litigated where people were fired or skipped over for a promotion because their employers learned they were gay or lesbian. A federal law prohibiting discrimination in employment such as the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) would address most issues of discrimination where no protections currently exist.

Gays in the military would disrupt unit cohesion.
There are now and there have always been gays in the U.S. military. The question is only whether they are allowed to serve honestly and openly. The original reason for disallowing gays and lesbians in the military was supposedly because they are prone to blackmail if an enemy finds out they are gay or lesbian. But if gays and lesbians want to serve openly, there is no chance that they can be blackmailed over it. Excuses like the "unit cohesion" one were used decades ago to oppose integrating blacks into the military. An executive order fixed that situation and the military survived it. The same thing should happen with regards to sexual orientation. Witch hunts have cost the military millions of dollars and untold lives have been ruined. "Don't ask don't tell" hasn't worked. It is time for an end to the ban. Way back in 1974, The Netherlands lifted prohibition of gays in the Royal Dutch Armed Forces with no adverse affects. Sweden followed.

If sodomy laws are never enforced, what harm are they?
Some states still have laws on the books that criminalize certain sexual acts between anyone or between certain classes of people. These are known as sodomy laws, and you'd be surprised at the range of things which are prohibited for everyone in some places. These laws need to be removed. Although they are usually not enforced, they can be selectively used to deny people other rights. "This court finds that since Ms. X freely admits to conduct which is illegal in this state, she loses custody of her child" or "her landlord has the right to evict her based on her criminal activity" or "her employer has the right to terminate her based on her criminal activity" or "she must register as a sex offender in this state". All of these have happened.

Why should gays be allowed to marry?
Because there are some 1000 benefits that come automatically with marriage. Spouses automatically inherit each other's property. Married people have legal authority to make medical decisions for an incapacitated spouse. Spouses are considered each other's family by law, whereas couples in a committed relationship who do not or cannot marry have no legal relationship whatsoever. This often means estranged family members are given the right to make decisions over someone's health or property while their lifemate is legally shut out. True, it is possible to overcome some of these shortcomings through legal arrangements made ahead of time through time consuming and costly legal maneuvering, but some of the benefits granted automatically through marriage are impossible to secure by any other means.

Marriage is primarily for reproduction.
If this were truly a factor, then post-menopausal women, sterile people, and people who choose not to have children should be prohibited from marrying since their unions do not produce children. It simply is not a controlling factor. Furthermore, gays and lesbians can and do have children, and legal recognition of their families can only bring security and stability to the lives of those children.

Traditional marriage needs to be defended.
From what? Pre-existing marriages would not be nullified. Heterosexuals would not be prevented from marrying. Extending rights to people who do not currently have them cannot be credibly seen as a threat to those who do. I do not understand the merits of the "defense of marriage" argument that is advanced by the right wing.

That's all I have to say about the issues. Thanks for reading, and if you care to discuss any of it with me, then contact me.