<p>Dude...why are you comparing humans to animals. You think homosexuality is animal behavior and people who are homo are animals? How dare you! how dare you! Animals! <em>insert mean joke here</em>!</p>
<p>I think that homosexuality is mostly innate, even if the person involved doesn't realize their orientation until later in life. Like that governor that resigned after admitting having a gay affair while married. He probably didn't realize he was gay until that one "special" guy came along.</p>
<p>
[quote]
He probably didn't realize he was gay until that one "special" guy came along.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's all that matters. People are not born gay.</p>
<p>^I really doubt that that governor didn't know that he was gay. He has probably just suppressed his homosexual feelings so that he could be accepted by his family, society, etc. Getting married was what he thought he should do. Just because he didn't openly express his homosexual feelings until later in life doesn't mean that he didn't know he was gay until that point. That is so rediculous to think that. Most gay people don't come out until many years after they realize that they have an attraction to people of the same sex. Why??? because much of society looks down upon. And to all of you bible bangers, do you believe everything that you read in a damn book that people just like you and I wrote? Oh I'm sorry these were special people who knew what God wanted to say in his book. Why are there no more of these special people? Maybe we could get them to write a more updated version of this book. God must have new things to say. </p>
<p>Hm. For a while there I was like, I don't know if God exists or not. I don't know if there really were people who knew what God wanted to write in this book we call the Bible. And if I don't know, who am I to say it ain't true. Guess what. After reading the bull S*!t that half of you people wrote in this damn thing idk.</p>
<p>Hahaha...if you diss on people who read the bible and what they beleive in they can diss on you and what you beleive in...I've never read the bible so i don't know anything about it</p>
<p>'nuff said...</p>
<p>I posted this on the parents' cafe, but here it is again. Sheed, you are so misinformed it's astounding.</p>
<p>I believe that there's a genetic predisposition for homosexuality, but it's up to the environment to determine that kid's sexual orientation. What we do know though is that it is NOT a conscious voluntary choice (this is according to the medical establishment: the American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, AMA, et. al.).</p>
<p>
Is Sexual Orientation a Choice? No, human beings can not choose to be either gay or straight. Sexual orientation emerges for most people in early adolescence without any prior sexual experience. Although we can choose whether to act on our feelings, psychologists do not consider sexual orientation to be a conscious choice that can be voluntarily changed.
Answers</a> to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality</p>
<p>I'm so misinformed it's astounding? cool.</p>
<p>Then again, we have to relate this all new evidence with the obese people in this world.</p>
<p>What is obesity?</p>
<p>Obesity is an enduring emotional, romantic, and affectionate attraction to different types of food to eat.</p>
<p>What Causes a Person To Have Obesity?</p>
<p>There are numerous theories about the origins of a person's obesity; most scientists today agree that obesity is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors. In most people, obesity is shaped at an early age. There is also considerable recent evidence to suggest that biology, including genetic or inborn hormonal factors, play a significant role in a person's obesity. In summary, it is important to recognize that there are probably many reasons for a person's obesity and the reasons may be different for different people.</p>
<p>Is Obesity a Choice?</p>
<p>No, human beings can not choose to be either obese or not. Obesity emerges for most people in early adolescence without any prior obesity. Although we can choose whether to act on our feelings, psychologists do not consider obesity to be a conscious choice that can be voluntarily changed.</p>
<p>Can Exercise Change Obesity?</p>
<p>No. Even though most obese people live successful, happy lives, some obese or fat people may seek to change their appearance through therapy, sometimes pressured by the influence of family members or religious groups to try and do so. The reality is that obesity is not an illness. It does not require treatment and is not changeable.</p>
<p>However, not all obese, and fat people who seek assistance from a mental health professional want to change their appearance. Obese people may seek psychological help with the coming out process or for strategies to deal with prejudice, but most go into therapy for the same reasons and life issues that bring healthy people to mental health professionals.</p>
<p>What About So-Called "Jenny Craig and other programs"?</p>
<p>Some exercise therapists who undertake so-called conversion therapy report that they have been able to change their clients' obesity from fat to thin. Close scrutiny of these reports however show several factors that cast doubt on their claims. For example, many of the claims come from organizations with an ideological perspective which condemns obesity/gluttony. Furthermore, their claims are poorly documented. For example, treatment outcome is not followed and reported overtime as would be the standard to test the validity of any mental health intervention.</p>
<p>The American Psychological Association is concerned about such therapies and their potential harm to patients. In 1997, the Association's Council of Representatives passed a resolution reaffirming psychology's opposition to obeseophobia in treatment and spelling out a client's right to unbiased treatment and self-determination. Any person who enters into therapy to deal with issues of obesity has a right to expect that such therapy would take place in a professionally neutral environment absent of any social bias.</p>
<p>Is obesity a physical Illness or physical Problem?</p>
<p>No. Healthologists, doctors and other physical health professionals agree that obesity is not an illness, physical disorder or a physical problem. Over 35 years of objective, well-designed scientific research has shown that obesity, in and itself, is not associated with physical disorders or physical problems. Obesity was once thought to be a physical illness because physical health professionals and society had biased information. In the past the studies of obese and fatl people involved only those in therapy, thus biasing the resulting conclusions. When researchers examined data about these people who were not in therapy, the idea that obesity was a physical illness was quickly found to be untrue. </p>
<p>There's more, but i decided to stop. Fact is...Obesity is not a health issue. YOU sanjenferrer are the one that's misinformed about obesity. You talk about how they are a health risk and all that. Stop with the BS. YOU ARE MISINFORMED about life. Have you ever even met an obese person in your life? HAVE YOU? Because if you have, you would see that they are just like you and me, they are just different from the mainstream. And I know for a FACT, that many top colleges would not someone who's against obesity to ever come to their school. I'm sure Northwestern has Obese professors and students, and you most definitely would be detrimental to their mission of keeping obese and thin people on the same level.</p>
<p>actually there is strong scientific evidence that shows that there may be a gene that determines sexual orientation. why do men and women attract? because there is a gene that makes it that way. there are hormones that are secreted out of your body to make yourself appealing to the opposite sex... is there a gene that is responsible for that? of course.</p>
<p>anyone who says homosexuality is a choice is living in the wrong millenium. make that two. and if you back this on the fact that your bible tells you so... then you have to realize that that was created when so called "criminals" were nailed on crosses. i think humankind's moral values have evolved just a little bit since then. and if you are guilty of this lack in logic, then you are a hypocrite - because according to that same document, God loves all his children.</p>
<p>
[quote]
There was an ad about strong gay men when I just read this thread.
Coincidence? I don't think so.
[/quote]
Haha! Best post yet...</p>
<p>
[quote]
actually there is strong scientific evidence that shows that there may be a gene that determines sexual orientation. why do men and women attract? because there is a gene that makes it that way. there are hormones that are secreted out of your body to make yourself appealing to the opposite sex... is there a gene that is responsible for that? of course.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>All of the links are proof that Homosexuality is not genetic, or at least that it has not been proven to be genetic at all. I actually did my research to just to prove that all of you are just making random claims wanting to believe in them does NOT make them true. Not one of you has given me a link that proves that it's genetic or anything like that. SO HERE YOU GO! HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT GENETIC AS OF RIGHT NOW! </p>
<p>Read the first link for explanations. The next two links are actual research that DISPROVES that homosexuality has anything to do with genetics according to recent studies.</p>
<p>The</a> Gay Gene?</p>
<p>OMIM</a> - HOMOSEXUALITY 1; HMS1</p>
<p>Male</a> homosexuality: absence of linkage to microsat...[Science. 1999] - PubMed Result</p>
<p>
[quote]
God loves all his children
[/quote]
</p>
<p>God doesn't have any children.</p>
<p>LOL. Hey Sheed, did you actually read the last two links you posted? The first found that
[quote]
Heritability of homosexuality was considered to be substantial under a wide range of assumptions
[/quote]
and the second that
[quote]
Several lines of evidence have implicated genetic factors in homosexuality.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I think the debate's pretty much over when the main contrarian posts evidence disputing his own assertion.</p>
<p>Dude...you haven't read anything have you? </p>
<p>please go back and read</p>
<p>I love how you just referred to what you wanted to</p>
<p>Several lines of evidence have implicated genetic factors in homosexuality. The most compelling observation has been the report of genetic linkage of male homosexuality to microsatellite markers on the X chromosome. This observation warranted further study and confirmation. Sharing of alleles at position Xq28 was studied in 52 gay male sibling pairs from Canadian families. Four markers at Xq28 were analyzed (DXS1113, BGN, Factor 8, and DXS1108). Allele and haplotype sharing for these markers was not increased over expectation. These results do not support an X-linked gene underlying male homosexuality.</p>
<p>umm...what did that last sentence say? That's exactly what I thought...don't say isht till you read everything...I love it when people make stupid comments...including myself</p>
<p>uh, Sheed. one of those studies that you posted was done by Dean Hamer who in 1993 found evidence that did in fact show that there was a genetic mutation that was connected to homosexuality. it's pretty well known. lol.</p>
<p>i think people should just accept it. no one can ever know how it feels to fear being potentially alienated from the ones you love and care about unless they have gone through it themselves. it is not something that can just be put out in the open right away. the reason why so many people think it is because of a person's environment is because many people don't come out until late in life because they fear they won't be accepted. there is a huge suicide rate among gay youth for this reason.</p>
<p>i don't think it is a sin to be born into a world that doesn't accept you for who you are - REGARDLESS of whether it is considered a choice or genetic. it IS a sin to alienate others who are different.</p>
<p>Environment.
some guys/girls have more feminine/masculine traits than others of their sex, but this does not make them homosexual.
a friend once told me he had had talks with gay guys in college and everyone he spoke to eventually said that he had been molested at an early age. This turned them to homosexuality.</p>
<p>I have known some pretty nice guys who happened to also be gay. Didn't matter to me, because they were great people. However, I don't think they should be raising children. I think anyone who is allowed to adopt should have a very strong marriage (a husband and a wife), be a great agent for transmitting the best of our culture, as in emphasizing doing well in school and going to college, exposing the child to the best music and art, 2 parents (one of each sex), tv show watching limited so as to allow time for sports and reading at home, etc. etc. Just the best environment for that adopted child. This eliminates all gays, as well as many heterosexual couples who wouldn't be able to offer an adopted child that kind of environment, and notice that income has nothing to do with whether the parents would be suitable.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Dude...you haven't read anything have you?</p>
<p>please go back and read</p>
<p>I love how you just referred to what you wanted to</p>
<p>Several lines of evidence have implicated genetic factors in homosexuality. The most compelling observation has been the report of genetic linkage of male homosexuality to microsatellite markers on the X chromosome. This observation warranted further study and confirmation. Sharing of alleles at position Xq28 was studied in 52 gay male sibling pairs from Canadian families. Four markers at Xq28 were analyzed (DXS1113, BGN, Factor 8, and DXS1108). Allele and haplotype sharing for these markers was not increased over expectation. These results do not support an X-linked gene underlying male homosexuality.</p>
<p>umm...what did that last sentence say? That's exactly what I thought...don't say isht till you read everything...I love it when people make stupid comments...including myself
[/quote]
</p>
<p>What can I say? Sheed, the purpose of the study was to examine a proposed hypothesis regarding X-linked inherited homosexuality. The study found that homosexuality was not inherited on the X gene.</p>
<p>What you said is like saying, "Gravity is not caused by the magnetic field of the earth. Therefore, gravity does not exist."</p>
<p>jackht. you don't understand what I'm saying at all do you? I posted that, because that study was done, AND THEN DISPROVED. That was my point. Scientists disproved it and ALL across, the scientists and psychologists all believed that it was disproved. you understand my point now?</p>
<p>I don't understand where you guys are getting your BS info from. Even gay people know that the genetic theory that I posted has been disproved.</p>
<p>EDIT: aristotle. No, that's not what I'm saying..what I'm saying is that it hasn't been proven yet. case closed. you can't bring it up at all. It's a ****ty theory that has been disproved every time it was brought up. PLEASE SHOW ME THE RESEARCH THAT SAYS GENETICS CAUSE IT./ I show you the research of people against it, but you're not showing me isht. case closed. please show me proof.</p>
<p>still, many scientists still observe the X gene. just because one scientist didn't find a connection that could be supported doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.
there are a myriad of scientists who still argue that the world is going into another ice age...</p>
<p>plus weren't those studies done on men only? what about gay women?</p>
<p>O, and here's some more. read the heading</p>
<p>In May 2000, the American Psychiatric Association issued a Fact Sheet, “Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues,” which includes this statement: “Currently, there is a renewed interest in searching for biological etiologies for homosexuality. However, to date there are no replicated scientific studies supporting any specific biological etiology for homosexuality.”</p>
<p>Prepare yourselves for a long reply I have found off of a website. Keep in mind, it is backed up with research, but exspresses a certain point of view. This is NOT neccessarily my point of view. I may agree with a few things, but please note that I also disagree with things as well. It is just here for the sake of information.</p>
<pre><code>quote: A comprehensive breakdown for the compromised mind
Sexual Orientation
Gender is an innate component of a person’s being and an essential characteristic of individual identity and purpose. Marriage is between a man and a woman for the purpose of building a nuclear family--the place where children historically and statistically fare best. Homosexuality is not just another alternative lifestyle or even a sexual "preference;" it is unhealthy and destructive behavior which negatively impacts individual persons, families, and society. Same sex attraction is a symptom of a developmental disorder that can often be prevented and can be treated. Homosexual advocacy groups seeking to normalize homosexual behavior by equating homosexuality with innate characteristics such as race or ethnicity should be opposed. United Families International is adamantly opposed to verbal abuse and violence against homosexually attracted persons, and seeks to offer compassion and assistance to help those experiencing same sex attractions overcome these tendencies.
Myth and Reality
Myth: Research shows that there is a "gay gene." Homosexuality is genetic.
Reality: Homosexuality is not a genetically encoded condition. Contrary to media hype, there is no conclusive or compelling empirical evidence showing any absolute biological, genetic, or hormonal causation for homosexuality. Homosexual activist and molecular biologist Dean Hamer’s study claiming the existence of a homosexual gene has been scientifically discredited. Studies that claim to prove homosexuality is genetic have been purposefully designed from a homosexual advocacy perspective and seek to convince society that homosexuality is innate, psychologically normal, and thus socially desirable.
There may be a possibility of the existence of a genetic predisposition toward homosexuality, which is far different from causation. But even this possibility is far from scientifically proven. Predisposition toward something does not mean that it is inevitable, or that such a predisposition cannot or should not be resisted and overcome. Some people may have a predisposition to alcoholism, yet we do not affirm their disposition, but rather treat their condition and help them change. Current evidence suggests that environmental, familial, and personal influences contribute significantly to the development of homosexual tendencies. Seventy years of therapeutic counseling and case studies show a remarkable consistency concerning the origins of the homosexual impulse as an uncompleted gender identity seeking after its own sex to replace what was not fully developed in childhood. (NARTH.com)
Although individuals who experience homosexual attractions and thoughts may not have chosen these tendencies, they do have a choice as to whether or not they will act on the feelings. It is the acting on these feelings that constitutes homosexuality. Many people have left the homosexual community and live successful heterosexual lives, which often includes marriage and raising children. See Fast Facts #73-83
Myth: Homosexual behavior is innate. Homosexuality is "what a person is."
Reality: What a person does (behavior) should never be equated with what a person is. No human being can or should be reduced to his or her sexual impulses. Impulses cannot compel behavior or identities without a person’s consent. If people "are" their actions, then what does that say about the thief, the anorexic, the prostitute, or the marathon runner? Ninety-eight percent of the population does not define their very being and purpose in life by their sexual behavior. See Fast Facts #73-83
Myth: Homosexuality is unchangeable.
Reality: Reputable studies and decades of successful treatment show that homosexual behavior can be changed. Homosexual activists claim that homosexuality is an unchangeable condition and insist that therapy does not work. They attempt to justify their claim by defining success in absolute terms stipulating that: before treatment a person must have never experienced opposite-sex attraction and never engaged in heterosexual relations. After treatment the person must be fully heterosexual in behavior and never have another same-sex thought or temptation for the rest of his/her life. This would be the equivalent of saying that no diet program works unless the person never gains back one ounce and is never tempted to overeat again. See Fast Facts #77-83
Myth: Homosexuals suffer from the same types of discrimination that minorities experienced prior to the civil rights movement.
Reality: Homosexuality is a sexual behavior. It cannot be compared to race or ethnicity. People who engage in same-sex behavior are accorded the same rights as every other citizen. Special rights should not be given to individuals because of their sexual behavior. Homosexuality is not a genetically encoded condition - like height or skin color. Governments should not grant special rights to the homosexual community for what is a behaviorally-based identity rather than a true genetic one. See Fast Facts #73-83.
Myth: Federal and regional governments deny homosexuals basic rights by not legalizing same-sex marriage. Homosexuals should be allowed to marry.
Reality: It is not discriminatory to deny homosexuals the right to marry. Homosexuals are afforded exactly the same right as heterosexuals; they can marry one person of the opposite sex. Homosexuals enjoy full citizenship rights; they can vote, own or transfer property, name life insurance beneficiaries, and grant medical power of attorney, among other rights. Marriage has been understood and defined for centuries and throughout civilization as the union between a man and a woman, instituted for the continuance of life and to best protect and provide for children. Government and society grant benefits and protection to a man and a woman in marriage because of their biological potential to bear and effectively raise the next generation. Even childless couples or infertile couples always have the potential to procreate. Homosexual couplings always do not. If societies deviate from the standard of marriage as a child-based institution, they open the door to any kind of marriage. When homosexuals are not allowed to marry each other, they suffer no more discrimination than do bigamists, polygamists, or people who wish to marry children. See Fast Facts #24-34, 91-97, 102-105
Myth: If two people love each other, they should be allowed to marry.
Reality: We love many people that we don’t marry. If there were no restrictions on marriage and feelings were all that mattered, fathers could marry their own daughters, brothers could marry sisters, and people could marry their dog. Were there no restrictions on marriage, the possible arrangements would be endless. If marriage is based solely on one’s affections, the need for companionship, or the desire for genital stimulation, then there is no logical reason for not legalizing polygamous, incestuous or pedophilic marriages. The redefinition of marriage could reduce it to a commitment between any two individuals or entities and there are many relationships in society that would meet the new definition. A marriage license fulfills a specific purpose which is to order society into families based on marriage between a man and a woman which has proven to be the best environment in which to raise children. See Fast Facts #24-34, 91-97, 102-105
Myth: What people do "in the privacy of their own bedrooms" is not anyone else’s business.
Reality: Private behavior often has very public consequences. Statistics clearly show that homosexual behavior is destructive and bears high costs, not only to the individual, but to society. Homosexual behavior has implications far beyond the bedroom. Last year the U.S. government spent billions of dollars on AIDS treatment, research and programs. AIDS in the U.S. is largely a homosexual disease stemming from unhealthy sexual practices. There are many consensual behaviors that current laws and customs have deemed harmful because of their negative effect on society. Drug use, prostitution, rape and incest are examples of activities that happen in the "privacy of bedrooms."
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling (Lawrence v. Texas) decriminalizing homosexual sex has opened the door for children to be taught in public schools that homosexual sodomy is normal, healthy and the equivalent of marital sex. California has already established programs to accomplish the above. Now that homosexual sex is legal it is coming out of the bedroom and into the classroom. See Fast Facts #1-23, 35-40, 107-113
Myth: In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed homosexuality from its list of "disorders." Homosexual behavior should be considered normal.
Reality: The decision to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) was made after APA leaders and members had endured several years of intense political pressure and disruptive lobbying efforts by militant homosexual activist groups. (Ronald Bayer, "Homosexuality and American Psychiatry: The Politics of Diagnosis," 1981) Homosexual activist groups pressured APA committees to remove homosexuality from the APA’s approved list of disorders. In spite of the long documented history showing that therapists have helped homosexual clients reduce and change their homosexual tendencies, professionals who persist in viewing and treating homosexuality as a changeable condition are labeled unenlightened, prejudiced, homophobic, and unethical. There is currently a movement within the APA to normalize pedophilia that appears to be following the same path to legitimization as homosexuality. See Fast Facts #1-3, 4-23, 35-40, 41-58, 77-82
Myth: The mental and emotional problems that homosexuals experience are due to the straight community’s persecution and intolerance of their lifestyle.
Reality: If this were true, then one would expect to find lower rates of suicide and mental illness among homosexuals in areas where homosexuality has been mainstreamed and widely accepted for decades (i.e., San Francisco, European countries, particularly the Netherlands). However, research shows that there is no reduction in the rates of suicide, mental illness, substance abuse, alcoholism, and homosexual domestic violence in areas where homosexuality is more widely accepted. High rates of emotional trauma in homosexuals are not induced by society but rather are the result of deviant behavior that assaults the emotional and physical health, of those who engage in homosexual sex. See Fast Facts #1-23, 24-34, 35-40
Myth: Homosexuals are powerless and oppressed by society.
Reality: Homosexuals are one of the most powerful special interest groups in the U.S. Their success in passing special "gay" rights legislation is unprecedented. Their opponents are silenced by cries of "homophobia," and their cause has been taken up as a major plank in the Democratic Party’s platform. Their political power goes way beyond what would be expected of a minority that makes up about 2 percent of the population.
See Fast Fact #101
Myth: Homosexuals are highly persecuted and frequently the victims of hate crimes.
Reality: Rates of violence against homosexuals are the highest within the homosexual community (gay-on-gay violence). (www.ojp.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/ipva99.pdf) In the U.S. during the year 2000, only two out of 15,517 murders were motivated by hatred toward homosexuals. (Federal Bureau of Investigation - Uniform Crime Reports) The federal government’s statistics confirm that anti-homosexual crime is not only rare, but statistically irrelevant, (Violence toward any person, regardless, is not acceptable.) The total number of crimes in the U.S. in 2000 was 11.6 million. Roughly eight ten-thousandths (0.008) of that number were found to be hate crimes of any type.
Why is there so much emphasis on the few homosexual hate crimes? What about the15,715 non-homosexual victims who were murdered in the year 2000? The rationale behind the great publicity and focus on hate crimes against homosexuals is to elevate sexual orientation to a special and protected class, to silence anyone who would speak out against homosexual behavior, and to advance a pro-homosexual agenda. See Fast Facts #35-40, 98-100
Myth: Schools are not a safe place for homosexual students. This problem should be specifically addressed in school curriculum, clubs, and safe-school policies and programs.
Reality: Public schools must be safe for every child, without differentiation. Most schools already have policies prohibiting harassment of every kind. Many children suffer from the same kind of harassment purportedly directed exclusively at homosexual students, including children who are overweight, undersized, timid, suffering from acne, or who belong to ethnic minorities. Anti-harassment policies should cover all students, in all circumstances, equally, and not provide special protection for specific groups.
Federal crime rate statistics (Federal Bureau of Investigation - Uniform Crime Reports) reported a total of 140 incidents of hate crimes based on sexual orientation within U.S. schools and colleges during the year 2000. The nation has roughly 55 million students. The incidence rate of 140 crimes based on sexual orientation relative to 55 million students is 0.00003 percent, or three in 100,000.
Pro-homosexual organizations such as Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and the National Education Association (NEA) see safe school policies as an opportunity to establish clubs and develop curriculum that will indoctrinate student populations toward pro-homosexual advocacy. These organizations use the "safe school" notion as a Trojan horse. Once sexual orientation is established as an issue of safety rather than of sexual behavior, activists demand the entire fabric of public instruction be modified to promote, validate, and even celebrate risky sexual practices and lifestyles that are unacceptable to the majority of students and their families. See Fast Facts #1-4, 13, 20-23, 41-58, 101-113
Myth: Ten percent of individuals worldwide are homosexual. Since a substantial segment of the population is homosexual, we should recognize, accommodate, and protect the homosexual lifestyle.
Reality: This 10 percent figure is a great example of statistical distortion. This figure comes from an analysis of interviews conducted from 1938 to 1948 under the supervision of Alfred Kinsey where 10 percent of men interviewed claimed to be homosexual. The study considered only male behavior and thus the 10 percent figure cannot be applied to the half of the population who are women. Furthermore, the Kinsey study did not claim that the 10 percent were exclusively homosexual for life. Some boys experiment with same-sex behavior in adolescence only to become completely heterosexual later. The Kinsey study itself stated that less than 4 percent of men are homosexual. Current studies estimate that between 1.8 to 3 percent of the male population consider themselves to be homosexual with the rate for females at 1.5 percent. (Herrel, R. et al (1999) A Co-twin Control Study in Adult Men" Archives of General Psychiatry. 56, 10: 867-874 Edward O. Laumann, John H. Gagnon, Robert T. Michael and Stuart Michaels, The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. John O. G. Billy, et al., "The Sexual Behavior of Men in the United States," Family Planning Perspectives 25 (March/April 1993): 58. J. Gordon Muir, "Homosexuals and the 10 percent Fallacy," Wall Street Journal (March 31, 1993). Milton Diamond, "Homosexuality and Bisexuality in Different Populations," Archives of Sexual Behavior 22 (1993): 300) See Fast Facts #84-90
Myth: Homosexuals function within the community just like heterosexuals.
Reality: Homosexuals, like the general population, contribute in the workplace and in their communities. Nevertheless, homosexuals engage in behaviors that are destructive to themselves and to society. Homosexuality carries a number of risks, the most serious of which is exposure to HIV/AIDS and other STDs. Fifty percent of men who have sex with men will eventually become HIV positive or infected with another potentially fatal sexually transmitted disease. About 30 percent of homosexually active men and women have serious drug and alcohol problems. Pedophilia is widespread among the homosexual community. Though homosexuals make up just two percent of the U.S. population, homosexuals commit 33 percent of the pedophilia crimes. About 40 percent of homosexuals have been victims of childhood sexual abuse or adult sexual violence. Prevention, early intervention, and treatment for homosexual behavior, while not 100 percent effective, does work. Lawmakers, parents, teachers, students, and the community at large have a right to know the negative consequences associated with the homosexual behavior and lifestyle. See Fast Facts #4, 9-22, 24-34, 35-40, 44-58
Myth: The U.S. government should spend more money to help AIDS victims and to find a cure for AIDS.
Reality: In the U.S., the most prevalent adverse health conditions are arthritis and heart disease, which respectively afflict 40 and 50 million individuals, at an estimated total annual per capita cost ranging from $3,000-$6,000. Less than 1 million Americans have HIV/AIDS, with an estimated total annual per capita cost of about $200,000.
More than 400,000 Americans have died of AIDS. Most of the infections and deaths could have been prevented by the employment of standard public health practices, which were in place for more than half a century leading up to the inception of the AIDS epidemic. These practices include testing, contact tracing, reporting, and closing of infections sites. These standard practices were all abandoned under intense and unrelenting political pressure from homosexual activists and the AIDS lobby. See Fast Facts #17, 18, 101
Myth: The homosexual community is doing everything in its power to stop the AIDS epidemic.
Reality: AIDS in the homosexual community, after a short drop in the infection rate during the mid-eighties, continues to rise. Many of the homosexual men involved in AIDS education believe "The proper goal of AIDS prevention is to defend the gay sexual revolution." For these men, "Gay liberation was founded on a sexual brotherhood of promiscuity," and "any abandonment of that promiscuity would amount to a communal betrayal of gargantuan proportions." (Rotello, G. (1997) Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men. NU: Dutton, p. 109.)
Those who have died of AIDS have been memorialized as martyrs. Rather than calling for changes in the behaviors that led to these deaths, the homosexual activists blame the general public for not finding a cure, not funding education, and for causing homosexuals' low self-esteem. When one points to the cost of the AIDS epidemic and the fact that in the U.S. it is primarily a disease of homosexuals and IV drug users, the messenger is accused of victim blaming. See Fast Facts #4, 9-11, 16
Myth: Homosexuals make great parents and should be allowed to adopt..
Reality: When considering the negative health and social consequences of homosexual behavior, adoption of children by homosexuals cannot be considered in the best interest of the child. Allowing homosexual couples to adopt would seem to ignore the statistics on the high mortality rate from HIV/AIDS and high rate of alcohol and drug abuse, as well as the instability and violent nature of homosexual relationships.
Children in homosexual households do not experience first-hand three of the most important relationships required for social development: male/female, husband/wife or mother/father. Adoption law should, first and foremost, protect the best interest of children and should not be changed. Social science research indicates that children do best in traditional family settings. Fast Facts #1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 15, 20-23, 24-34, 35-40, 59-72
Tim-
quote: Re: A comprehensive breakdown for the compromised mind [re: Hicup]
Fast Facts Index!!
Homosexual behavior significantly increases the likelihood of psychiatric, mental and emotional disorders, according to a study in the Netherlands. Youth are four times more likely to suffer major depression, almost three times as likely to suffer generalized anxiety disorder, nearly four times as likely to experience conduct disorder, four times as likely to commit suicide, five times as likely to have nicotine dependence, six times as likely to suffer multiple disorders, and more than six times as likely to have attempted suicide. (Study of 5,998 Dutch adults. Theo G.M. Sandforte, T. Graaf, R. Bijl, R. Schnabel, P. (2001) Same-Sex Sexual Behavior and Psychiatric Disorders: Findings from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence," Archives of General Psychiatry. 58, 10: 85-91.) **This research comes from the Netherlands where homosexuality has been accepted and mainstreamed for years, negating the mindset that a lack of tolerance of homosexual behavior and lifestyle produces these psychoses.
A co-twin study found that men with same-sex partners were 6.5 times as likely as their co-twin to have attempted suicide. The higher rate was not explained by mental health or substance abuse disorders. (Herrell, R. et al (1999) "A Co-twin Control Study in Adult Men" Archives of General Psychiatry. 56, 10: 867 - 874.)
A study by Harvard Medical School of 4,159 high school students (grades 9-12) found that "GLB youth report disproportionate risk for a variety of health risk and problem behaviors…engage[ing] in twice the mean number of risk behaviors as did the overall population." More than 30 health risks and problem behaviors were identified, including an increased use of cocaine and other illegal drugs, use of tobacco, marijuana, and cocaine before age 13, sexual intercourse before age 13, and sexual intercourse with four or more partners. (R. Garofalo et. al., "The Association Between Health Risk Behaviors and Sexual Orientation Among a School-based Sample of Adolescents," Pediatrics, Vol. 101, No. 5, May 1998: 895-902.) Homosexual or bisexual teenagers are more than three times as likely to attempt suicide as their heterosexual peers. (R. Garofalo, R. C. Wolf, L. S. Wissow, E. R. Woods and E. Goodman. "Sexual Orientation and Risk of Suicide Attempts Among a Representative Sample of Youth.’ Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 153 [1999]: 487-493.)
HIV/AIDS is rampant in the homosexual community. Epidemiologists estimate that 30percent of all 20-year-old homosexually-active men will be HIV positive or dead of AIDS by the time they are 30. (Goldman, E. "Psychological Factors Generate HIV Resurgence in Young Gay men." Clinical Psychiatry News. Oct. 1994) HIV infection rates more than doubled from 1997 to 2000 as safe-sex practices were abandoned. In Los Angeles and five other major cities, one in 10 young homosexual or bisexual men is infected with HIV. ("L.A. Studies Show Increase in Risky Sex by Gay men," Los Angeles Times, Feb. 17, 2001) Among homosexual African Americans, the HIV infection rate is one out of three. ("Young Gay Black Men Suffer High HIV Rates," Associated Press, Feb. 6, 2001.)
The median age of death for those who regularly engage in homosexual behavior leaned in the direction of less than 50. The data suggest a "20- to 30-year decrease in lifespan" because of "substantially elevated rates of sexually elevated diseases . . . cancer and heart conditions, and violence among homosexual men and women." (Four data sets: obituaries from the homosexual press; two 1994 sexuality surveys; homosexual marriage records for Scandinavia; and Colorado medical records) (Paul Cameron, Kirk Cameron, and William L. Playfair)
The rate of new HIV infections among men who have sex with men is nine times higher than among women and heterosexual men. (Centers for Disease Control, Media Center, 2002)
The risk of contracting AIDS from a single act of unprotected heterosexual intercourse is 1 in 715,000. The risk of contracting AIDS from a single act of unprotected homosexual intercourse is 1 in 165. (Tom W. Smith, "Adult Sexual Behavior and Risk of AIDS," Family Planning Perspectives 23, no. 3 (May/June 1991) 104). "Does Homosexual Activity Shorten Life?" Psychological Reports. Vol. 83, Number . , 1998. Page(s) 847-866.)
Psychological health problems including multiple drug use, partner violence, history of childhood sexual abuse, and depression interface to sharply increase high-risk sexual behavior and HIV infection rates among homosexual and bisexual men in the U.S. (L. Linley, R. Stall, G. Mansergh, "New CDC Studies Shed Light on Facts Underlying High HIV Infection Rates Among Gay and Bisexual Men." CDC Media Relations: Press Release )
An editorial in Steam, a magazine for homosexuals, quotes a man who has been HIV positive since the early years of the epidemic: "I'm so sick and tired of these Negatives whining about how difficult it is to stay safe. Why don't they just get over it and get Positive." According to Scott O'Hara, Steam's HIV-positive editor: "One of my primary goals is the maximization of pleasure, and just as I believe that gay men have more fun, so too, do I believe that Positives have learned to have much more fun than Negatives. I'm delighted to be Positive. . .The Negative world is defined by fear, ours by pleasure." (Rotello, G. (1997) Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men. NU: Dutton, p. 242.)
Research shows that homosexual men are not getting tested for HIV. A report from the Centers for Disease Control showed that more than three-quarters of the homosexual men studied were unaware they were carrying HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Ninety percent of homosexual black men, ages 15-29, who have the virus, did not know they had the virus until researchers told them. The figure for Hispanic homosexual men is 70 percent and for the white homosexual men 60 percent. (Centers for Disease Control, International AIDS Conference, Barcelona, Spain. July 7-12, 2002.)
HIV infection rates among homosexuals in King County Washington jumped 40 percent in the year 2002 and are expected to jump 60 percent in the year 2003. The reasons cited are decreased fear of the disease, burnout on safe-sex messages, lack of interest in knowing HIV status, and few gay community leaders sounding the alarm about the new wave of infections. (Warren King, "Dramatic Surge seen in Local HIV Cases," The Seattle Times, June 4, 2003.)
Epidemiologists estimate that one out of two men who have sex with men will eventually become HIV positive. Men who begin to engage in sex with men at an earlier age are more likely to become HIV positive and to become HIV positive earlier. (Hessol, N., Lifson, A., O'Malley, P., Doll, L., Jaffe, H., Rutherford, G. (1989) Prevalence, incidence and progression of human immunodeficiency virus infection in homosexual and bisexual men in hepatitis B vaccine trials, 1978 - 1988. American Journal of Epidemiology. 130, 6: 1167 - 1175) (Hoover, D., Munoz, A., Carey, V., Chmiel, J., Taylor, J., Margolick, J., Kingsley, L., Vermund, S. (1991) Estimating the 1978 - 1990 and future spread of human Immunodeficiency virus type 1 in subgroups of homosexual men. American Journal of Epidemiology 134, 10: 1190 - 1205) (Morris, M., Dean, L. (1994) Effects of sexual behavior change on long-term human immunodeficiency virus prevalence among homosexual men. American Journal of Epidemiology. 140, 3: 217 - 32)
The bacteria contacted during anal intercourse include Shigella, Entamoeba, Giardia (causes chronic diarrhea), and the bacteria that cause hepatitis A (severe liver damage which can kill), and hepatitis B. Of course, the mostly deadly of all, HIV, is more easily transmitted through anal sex. ("When Kids don’t Have a Straight Answer" [Departments: Health and Fitness]. NEAToday on-line.)
A study revealed a dramatic increase in anal cancer among homosexual men. This increase is traced to the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually-transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer in women and is found in almost all HIV-positive homosexual men. (Report of study at annual meeting of American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, June 26, 2002.)
Lesbians are more likely to be HIV positive than heterosexual women, not because HIV is transmitted by lesbian sexual activity, but because lesbians are more likely to have had sexual relations with HIV positive men or use IV drugs. (Myers, R., "The Talking Sex Project: Descriptions of the Study Population and Correlated of Sexual Practices at Baseline." Canadian Journal of Public Health. Jan./Feb. 1992.)
Homosexual men in San Francisco who reported having unprotected anal sex increased from 30% in 1994 to 39% in 1997. Those who said they had unprotected sex with multiple partners grew from 24% to 33% during the same period. (Sack, K. (1999) "For Gay Men, HIV Peril and Rising Drug Use," New York Times. Jan. 29 internet version)
During fiscal year 2000, the United States spent $10.8 billion on HIV/AIDS patient care. That’s $l,359 per month per HIV/AIDS patient. (Summary Fact Sheet on HIV/AIDS)
In 2002, HIV/AIDS-related prevention programs at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) received $144 million in funding. (Bob Kellogg, "CDC Audit Badly Needed, Critics Say," Citizenlink, August 1, 2002)
In Los Angeles County, homosexual jail inmates have as high as a 94% recidivism rate. These inmates with communicable diseases, such as AIDS, syphilis, and hepatitis, infect others in the community upon their release and then infect still others back inside the jails if they return. (Beth Shuster, Los Angeles Times, "Sheriff approves Handout of Condoms to Gay Inmates," November 30, 2001)
Thirty-two percent of homosexual men and women abuse alcohol, as compared with 7 % (10 % of men and 5 % of women) in the general population. (Fifield, L., Latham, J., Phillips, C. (1977) Alcoholism in the Gay Community: The Price of Alienation, Isolation, and Oppression, A Project of the Gay Community Service Center, Los Angeles, CA)
Homosexuality correlates with higher alcohol use, frequency of intoxication, marijuana use, cocaine use, and other drug problems. There is a higher incidence for males than females. (McKirnan, D., Peterson, P. (1989) Psychosocial and Cultural Factors in a Alcohol and Drug Abuse: An analysis of a Homosexual Community, Addictive Behaviors. 14: 555-563.)
Among homosexual men, ages 18 to 25: 79.2 have used marijuana; 75% have used psychotherapeutics for nonmedical reasons; 65.2% have used stimulants such as dexedrine and benzedrine; 62.5% have used inhalants such as amyl or butyl nitrate; and 50.2% have used hallucinogens such as LSD. Rates among lesbians: marijuana, 82. %; psychotherapeutics, 58.8%; stimulants, 52.9%; inhalants, 41.2%; and hallucinogens, 41.2%. Comparing current usage to national usage, homosexuals were found to use drugs with greater frequency: "Among adults aged 18-25, 16.5% of men and 9.1% of women have used marijuana in the past month, compared with 37.5% of gay men and 23.5% of lesbians." ( William F. Skinner "The Prevalence and Demographic Predictors of Illicit and Licit Drug Use Among Lesbians and Gay Men" American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 84, Number . , 1994. Page(s) 1307-1310)
37% of lesbian youths had been physically abused, and 32% had been raped or sexually attacked. 19% had been involved in incestuous relationships while growing up. Almost one-third used tobacco on a daily basis, about 30% drank alcohol more than once a week, and 6% drank daily. One in five smoked marijuana more than once a month. Twenty-one percent of the sample had thoughts about suicide "sometimes" or "often," and 18% had actually tried to kill themselves. More than half had felt too nervous to accomplish ordinary activities at some time during the past year, and more than one-third had been depressed. (J. Bradford et al., "National Lesbian Health Care Survey: Implications for Mental Health Care," Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 62 (1994): 239, cited in Health Implications Associated with Homosexuality, p. 81)
Unstable Relationships
A 1991 study of homosexual men in New York City revealed that the average number of lifetime sexual partners was 308. (Meyer-Balburg H. Exner, T.,Lorenz G., Gruen, R., Gorman, J, Ehrhardt, A (1991) Sexual Risk Behavior, Sexual Functioning and HIV-Disease Progression in Gay Men Journal of Sex Research. 28, 1: 3-27.)
According to Centers for Disease Control interviews, 50% of male homosexuals had over 500 sexual partners, the first several hundred homosexual men diagnosed with AIDS had an average of l,100 lifetime partners. (Rotello, G. (1997). Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay men. NY: Dutton.)
Clinicians Mattison and McWhirter studied 156 long-term homosexual relationships, but found that not one couple was able to maintain sexual fidelity for more than five years. Most maintained a monogamous relationship for less than one year. Homosexual theorists respond by redefining promiscuity as normal and healthy for homosexual men. (The Male Couple: How Relationships Develop, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Schmidt, 1995)
A. P. Bell and M. S. Weinberg, in their classic study of male and female homosexuality, found that 43% of white male homosexuals had sex with five hundred or more partners, with 28% having 1,000 or more sex partners. (A. P. Bell and M. S. Weinberg, Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), pp. 308, 309; See also A. P. Bell, M. S. Weinberg, and S. K. Hammersmith, Sexual Preference (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981)
Few homosexual relationships last longer than two years, but in a study of 156 males in homosexual relationships lasting from 1-37 years, "all couples with a relationship lasting more than five years have incorporated some provision for sexual activity outside of their relationships." (David P. McWhirter and Andrew M. Mattison, The Male Couple: How Relationships Develop, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1984, pp. 252, 253)
In a study of 2,583 older homosexuals, "the modal range for number of sexual partners was 101-500. In addition, 10.2% to 15.7% had between 501 and 1,000 partners, and between 10.2% and 15.7% reported having had more than 1,000 lifetime sexual partners" (Paul Van de Ven et al., "A Comparative Demographic and Sexual Profile of Older Homosexually Active Men," Journal of Sex Research 34 (1997): 354).
In their Journal of Sex Research study of the sexual practices of older homosexual men, Paul Van de Ven, et al, found that only 2.7% of older homosexuals had only one sexual partner in their lifetime. (Van de Ven et al., "A Comparative Demographic and Sexual Profile," p. 354.)
Among heterosexual couples, 75% of husbands and 90% of wives claim never to have had extramarital sex. (Robert T. Michael et al., Sex in America: A Definitive Survey, Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1994) Other studies and surveys confirm the percentage of faithful spouses between 75-81% for husbands and 85-88% for wives. (Michael W. Widerman, "Extramarital Sex: Prevalence and Correlated in a National Survey," Journal of Sex Research 34 [1997], pg. 2)
In the homosexual life, fidelity is almost impossible. Since part of the compulsion of homosexuality seems to be a need on the part of the homophile to absorb masculinity from his sexual partners, there is a compulsion to be constantly on the lookout for new partners. Consequently the most successful homophile "marriages" are those where there is an arrangement between the two to have affairs on the side while maintaining the semblance of permanence in their living arrangement. ( William Aaron, Straight (New York: Bantam Books, 1972), p. 208, cited by Joseph Nicolosi in Reparative Therapy of Male Homosexuality, p. 125, quoted by Robert H. Knight in "How Domestic Partnerships and ‘Gay Marriage’ Threaten the Family," Family Research Council, Insight, June 1994, p. 9)
For homosexual men, the term "monogamy" doesn’t necessarily mean sexual exclusivity. The term "open relationship" has for a great many homosexual men come to have one specific definition: A relationship in which the partners have sex on the outside often, put away their resentment and jealousy, and discuss their outside sex with each other, or share sex partners. (Michelangelo Signorile, Life Outside (New York: HarperCollins, 1997), p. 213)
"Even ‘committed’ homosexual relationships display a fundamental incapacity for the faithfulness and commitment that is axiomatic to the institution of marriage" (Timothy J. Dailey, Homosexual Parenting: Placing Children at Risk, Family Research Council: Monday, March 24, 2008 "IS01J3")
Domestic Violence
- A U.S. Justice Department study found an epidemic of violence between homosexuals: an annual average of 13,740 male victims of violence by homosexual partners and 16,900 victims by lesbian partners. (U.S. Department of Justice, "Intimate Partner violence and Age of Victim, 1993-99," Bureau of Justice Selected Findings, November 1994. www.ojp.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/ipva99.pdf) By contrast, the 1999 statistics for hate crimes based on sexual orientation totaled 1,558 victims (U.S. Department of Justice Statistics : Federal Bureau of Investigation - Uniform Crime Reports)
A survey of 1,099 lesbians found that more than half reported that they had been abused by a female lover/partner. This includes verbal, emotional, psychological, and physical abuse. (Gwat Yong Lie and Sabrina Gentlewarrier, "Intimate Violence in Lesbian Relationships: Discussion of Survey Findings and Practice Implications," Journal of Social Service Research 15 (1991): 41-59)
Among lesbians, "rates of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse were all significantly higher in their prior lesbian relationships than in their prior heterosexual relationships: 56.8% had been sexually victimized by a female, 45% had experienced physical aggression, and 64.5% experienced physical/emotional aggression." (A 1991 survey of 350 lesbians, 75% of whom had been in a previous relationship with a man) (Donald G. Dutton "Patriarchy and Wife Assault: The Ecological Fallacy" Violence and Victims. Vol. 9, Number 2. , 1994. Page(s) 167-178.)
Women are four times more likely to be victims of domestic violence in a lesbian household than in a married household. (Claire Renzetti, Violent Betrayal) Married women in traditional families experience the lowest rate of violence compared with women in other types of relationships ("Violence Between Intimates," Bureau of Justice Statistics Selected Findings, November 1994, p. 2)
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