I don't know why they are so worried, I never even heard of anyone being
attacked by a homosexual. Although the image would be a pretty humorous
one.
About 5% of the population is homosexual. About 5% of the population has always been homosexual and about 5% will probably always be homosexual. There are no more homosexuals now than there ever were. The number of homosexuals varies some from time to time and place to place but on average, it is about the same as it has always been.
In countries that have more liberal attitudes about sex (like France and Italy), where young boys are encouraged to develop healthy sexual interest in women and where nudity is more accepted (on the beach, in art, in the theater, etc.), only about 1% to 2% of the population is homosexual.
In places with restrictive attitudes toward sexuality, 8% to 10% of the population is homosexual. This may be because in areas like the Bible Belt, young boys have it drilled into their heads that to even look "on a woman to lust after her" is as good as committing adultery. There, as a young boy reaches puberty and begins to develop sexual curiosity, he is afraid to look at a woman because it might be sin and he has to sneak a sideways glance between the shower curtains at the gym to even see an adult male naked let alone ever hope to see a naked female. In the South boys don't even shower together after gym class or for that matter after football practice in most of our high schools any more. Is it any wonder that more of them develop a prurient interest in male genitals.
Perhaps, these "Christians" are worried because they have homosexuals confused with child molesters. This seems to be a theme in the numerous cases where persons identified as homosexuals have been prevented from becoming school teachers or child care providers. But homosexuals are not child molesters. In fact, almost all child molesters are heterosexuals. There have been cases in which a homosexual is also a child molester, but it is very rare. Homosexual men are not interested in little boys. Homosexual men are sexually attracted to men. They like the big muscular ones, the construction workers, the guys who work out at the gym. They have no reason to be attracted to little boys. Just as heterosexual males are attracted to adult women, particularly the ones who are well developed, homosexual males are attracted to adult males. Heterosexual males are not attracted to little girls and homosexual men are not attracted to little boys.
Perhaps, these "Christians" are confused about how one becomes a homosexual. Perhaps they think that if children find out that some people live as homosexuals, they might decide to be homosexuals too. One doesn't decide to be a homosexual. Becoming a homosexual is not a matter of "permission." For most homosexuals, the discovery that their sexual development isn't going like everybody else's is horrifying and frightening. They fight it with every means they can. They don't want to be different. For an example of this please see The Story of "A", a Christian Homosexual. There is good scientific evidence that a complex of several genetic and biological factors may be involved in determining who becomes homosexual. A person who does not have these factors is not likely to become homosexual. It is not a matter of rearing practices, parenting practices, or exposure to homosexuality. When a child becomes a homosexual, it is not because of anything the parents did or did not do. In fact, children who are raised by homosexual couples are no more likely to become homosexual than the general population.
Some "Christians" would have us believe that homosexual are not different, they simply choose a sinful lifestyle, they allow this perversion into their lives and all they need to do is repent and they can be as heterosexual as anybody. They get pulled into homosexuality by lust, much like some men and women get pulled into adultery. Think about that for a minute. If homosexuals are not different from the rest of us, then the rest of us are not different from the homosexuals. Could you, a heterosexual, be sexually attracted to the same sex just as easy as the opposite sex. If you thought you had permission to be homosexual would that type of sex been attractive to you. Was becoming a heterosexual a choice for you. Of course not. For many heterosexuals, the thought of engaging in a sex act with a person of the same sex is sickening. For many homosexuals the thought of engaging in a sex act with a person of the opposite sex is sickening.
Perhaps, these "Christians" are confused about what decriminalizing or normalizing homosexuality means. Decriminalizing homosexuality means decriminalizing what consenting adults do in their own lives and relationships. It does not mean decriminalizing child molestation. What Christians need to be working for in our communities and in our laws, is better protection for children, and better enforcement of the laws against child abuse. Suppressing homosexuality and forcing homosexuals to go underground will not make our communities better or safer.
Perhaps these "Christians" are confused about what would happen if homosexuality was made illegal. Perhaps they think that people would just stop being homosexuals if you made it illegal. Homosexuality has been illegal, suppressed, repressed, criminalized, and punished with the death sentence in various cultures at various times for thousands of years. But about 5% of the population has always been homosexual and about 5% of the population still is homosexual. Suppression does not equal prevention.
But I cannot believe that well educated, well read, and well informed people like Dr. Dobson and the people at the Family Research Council are confused about any of these things. They know the facts. So then why do they carry on about homosexuality as if it is a threat to national security.
Perhaps they are simply concerned about homosexuality because they believe homosexual acts to be immoral. Why then do they spend so much time and energy on this immoral act and so little on the immoral acts of people who live together without benefit of clergy or on men who commit adultery, keep mistresses, or engage in other immoral sexual acts?
Is it possible that they are using misinformation, scare tactics, and demagoguery to muster support for their attempt to gain political power? People are generally apprehensive about anything that is unfamiliar and unknown For generations, homosexuality has been suppressed, hidden, and most of us grew up without ever hearing about such a thing. Now all of a sudden people are talking about it everywhere. Unscrupulous individuals such as the political leadership of the Christian Right can then turn this apprehension into fear by allowing people to confuse homosexuality with child molestation, by campaigns of misinformation, by attacking research findings on the nature of homosexuality, by providing their own statistics, and eventually getting everybody upset and worried. Then they say, "Vote for us and we will protect you. Not only that, but we are the only ones who will protect you against this threat." And of course that is true, since there actually is no threat except the one they fabricated.
True Christians must take a strong stand against demagogues. Do not let yourselves be taken in by these people.
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Copyright © 1998 Steve Falkenberg