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Myth and Reality about Homosexuality--Sexual Orientation Section, Guide to Family Issues Posted on 12/05/2003 6:20:43 PM PST by Coleus Sexual Orientation Section
United Families International
Guide to Family Issues *Documentation to support the arguments in the Myth/Reality Section can be found in the section entitled "Fast Facts" located toward the end of the document. 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. (www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm) 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 (www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm) 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 Fast Facts Unhealthy Practices 1. 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. 2. 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.) 3. 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.) 4. 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.) 5. 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) 6. 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) 7. 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.) 8. 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." http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r020710.htm ) 9. 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.) 10. 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.) 11. 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.) 12. 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) 13. 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.) 14. 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.) 15. 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.) 16. 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) 17. 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. (www.whitehouse.gov/onap/facts.html) 18. 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) 19. 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) 20. 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) 21. 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.) 22. 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) 23. 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 24. 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.) 25. 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.) 26. 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) 27. 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) 28. 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) 29. 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). 30. 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.) 31. 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) 32. 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) 33. 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) 34. "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, http://www.frc.org/get/is01j3.cfm) Domestic Violence 35. 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 : www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm) 36. 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) 37. 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.) 38. 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) 39. The incidence of domestic violence among homosexual men is nearly double that in the heterosexual population (D. Island and P. Letellier, Men Who Beat the Men Who Love Them: Battered Gay Men and Domestic Violence, New York: Haworth Press, 1991, p. 14). 40. Relationship violence was found to be a significant problem for homosexuals. 44% of the gay men reported having experienced violence in their relationships; 13% reported sexual violence and 83% reported emotional abuse. Levels of abuse ran even higher among lesbians: 55% reported physical violence in their relationships, 14% reported sexual abuse, and 84% reported emotional abuse. (Study of 499 ethnically diverse homosexual, bisexual, and transgendered teenagers and adults) (Susan C. Turrell "A Descriptive Analysis of Same-Sex Relationship Violence for a Diverse Sample" Journal of Family Violence. Vol. 13, Number . , 2000. Page(s) 281-293) Child Abuse 41. The Washington Times reported that 8 out of every 10 homosexuals court-martialed by the U.S. Army for sexual misconduct between 1898 and the fall of 1993 had engaged in sexual assaults against their victims. Of these 102 assault cases, nearly half involved the molestation of children . (Dennis A. Wheeler, "The Legacy of Sodom," World News Digest, October 19, 1993) 42. The 1995 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance found that gay, lesbian, and bisexual orientation was associated with having had sexual intercourse before the age of 13, with having four or more partners in a lifetime, and with having experienced sexual contact against one’s will. (R. Garofalo et al., "The Association between Health Risk Behaviors and Sexual Orientation Among a School-based Sample of Adolescents," Pediatrics 101 [1998]: 895-902.) 43. A study of 425 homosexual males, ages 17 to 22, reported that 41.4% reported an occasion of forced sex. Seventy-nine of the boys reported beginning anal sex with men when they were ages 3 to 14. Of these, 15.2% were already HIV-positive. (Lemp, G., Hirozawa, A., Givertz, D., Nieri, G., Anderson, L., Linegren, M., Janssen, R., Katx, M. (1994) Seroprevalence of HIV and Risk Behaviors Among Young Homosexual and Bisexual Men. Journal of the American Medical Association. 272, 6: 449:454.) 44. "29% of the adult children of homosexual parents had been specifically subjected to sexual molestation by that homosexual parent, compared to only 0.6% of adult children of heterosexual parents. Having a homosexual parent(s) appears to increase the risk of incest with a parent by a factor of about 50." (P. Cameron and K. Cameron, "Homosexual Parents," Adolescence 31 (1996): 772) 45. "Individuals from 1% to 3% of the population that are sexually attracted to the same sex are committing up to one-third of the sex crimes against children." (Timothy J. Dailey, Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse, http://www.frc.org/get/is02e3.cfm) 46. Researchers Karla Jay and Allen Young report data showing that 73% of homosexuals surveyed had at some time had sex with boys 16-19 years of age or younger. (Karla Jay and Allen Young, The Gay Report: Lesbians and Gay Men Speak Out about Sexual Experiences and Lifestyles (New York: Summit Books, 1979), p. 275) 47. While many homosexuals do not seek out young sexual partners, evidence indicates that disproportionate numbers of homosexual men seek adolescent males or boys as sexual partners. (Zebulon A. Silverthorne & Vernon L. Quinsey, "Sexual Partner Age Preferences of Homosexual and Heterosexual Men and Women," p. 73) 48. "Incest was more common among bisexuals and homosexuals of both sexes" than among heterosexuals. While less than 0.8% of heterosexual males reported have had sex with a brother, 12% of homosexuals reported having had sex with at least one brother. (Study of more than 9,100 adults in U.S. metropolitan areas) (Paul Cameron, and Kirk Cameron "Does Incest Cause Homosexuality?" Psychological Reports. Vol. 76, Number . , 1995. Page(s) 611-621) 49. A study of male child sex offenders found that 14% targeted only males, and 28% chose males as well as females as victims, thus indicating that 42% of male pedophiles engaged in homosexual molestation. (Michele Elliott, "Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: What Offenders Tell Us," Child Abuse and Neglect 19 (1995): 581) 50. A study in Archives of Sexual Behavior found that homosexual men are attracted to young males. The study compared the sexual age preferences of heterosexual men, heterosexual women, homosexual men, and lesbians. The results showed that, in marked contrast to the other three categories, "all but 9 of the 48 homosexual men preferred the youngest two male age categories," which included males as young as age 15. (Zebulon A. Silverthorne & Vernon L. Quinsey, "Sexual Partner Age Preferences of Homosexual and Heterosexual Men and Women," p. 73) 51. A study of 229 convicted child molesters found that "86% of offenders against males described themselves as homosexual or bisexual." ( W. D. Erickson, "Behavior Patterns of Child Molesters," Archives of Sexual Behavior 17 (1988): 83) 52. In a 1999 Journal of Homosexuality, author Helmut Graupner claims: "Man/boy and woman/girl relations without doubt are same-sex relations and they do constitute an aspect of gay and lesbian life." Graupner argues that, as such, consensual sexual relations between adult homosexuals and youths as young as fourteen qualifies as a "gay rights issue." (Helmut Graupner, "Love Versus Abuse: Crossgenerational Sexual Relations of Minors: A Gay Rights Issue?" Journal of Homosexuality 37 (1999): 23, 26) 53. The Archives of Sexual Behavior reports: "One of the most salient findings of this study is that 46% of homosexual men and 22% of homosexual women reported having been molested by a person of the same gender. This contrasts to only 7% of heterosexual men and 1% of heterosexual women reporting having been molested by a person of the same gender." (Marie, E. Tomeo, et al., "Comparative Data of Childhood and Adolescence Molestation in Heterosexual and Homosexual Persons," Archives of Sexual Behavior 30 (2001): 539) 54. A study of 279 homosexual/bisexual men with AIDS and control patients reported: "More than half of both case and control patients reported a sexual act with a male by age 16 years, approximately 20% by age 10 years." (Harry W. Haverkos, et al., "The Initiation of Male Homosexual Behavior," The Journal of the American Medical Association 262 (July 28, 1989): 501) 55. Noted child sex abuse expert David Finkelhor found that "boys victimized by older men were over four times more likely to be currently engaged in homosexual activity than were non-victims. The finding applied to nearly half the boys who had had such an experience . . . Further, the adolescents themselves often linked their homosexuality to their sexual victimization experiences." (Bill Watkins & Arnon Bentovim, "The Sexual Abuse of Male Children and Adolescents: A Review of Current Research," Journal of Child Psychiatry 33 (1992); in Byrgen Finkelman, Sexual Abuse (New York: Garland Publishing, 1995), p. 316) 56. A study in the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology found: "In the case of childhood sexual experiences prior to the age of fourteen, 40% (of the pedophile sample) reported that they had engaged 'very often' in sexual activity with an adult, with 28% stating that this type of activity had occurred 'sometimes.'" (Gary A. Sawle, Jon Kear-Colwell, "Adult Attachment Style and Pedophilia: A Developmental Perspective," International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 45 (February 2001): 6) 57. A National Institute of Justice report states that "the odds that a childhood sexual abuse victim will be arrested as an adult for any sex crime is 4.7 times higher than for people . . . who experienced no victimization as children." (Cathy Spatz Widom, "Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse - Later Criminal Consequences," Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse Series: NIJ Research in Brief, (March 1995): 6) 58. A Child Abuse and Neglect study found that 59% of male child sex offenders had been victims of contact sexual abuse as a child." (Michele Elliott, "Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: What Offenders Tell Us," Child Abuse and Neglect 19 (1995): 582) Homosexual Parenting/Gay Adoption 59. Children of homosexuals reported that their childhoods were more difficult than the childhoods of children of heterosexuals. In 9 % of homosexual-parented families, children mentioned having one or more problems or concerns. Of the 213 "score problems," 94% were attributed to the homosexual parent(s). Among appellate cases, the courts attributed 97% of the "harms" to children to the homosexual parent. (Narratives from 52 homosexually-parented families and files from 40 appeals court cases involving custody disputes between homosexual and heterosexual parents) (Paul Cameron and Kirk Cameron "Children of Homosexual Parents Report Childhood Difficulties" Psychological Reports. Vol. 90, Number 1. February, 2002. Page(s) 71-82) 60. Compared with children from traditional families, children from nontraditional families showed more psychological problems as rated by their parents and more internalizing behavior as rated by their teachers. Boys from nontraditional families were especially at a disadvantage; they showed lower self-concept, more externalizing, poorer classroom behavior, and lower grade-point averages. Girls from such families were less popular with peers. (Study of 136 fifth-grade children and their parents in Vermont) (Phyllis Bronstein, JoAnn Clauson, Miriam Frankel Stoll, and Craig L. Abrams "Parenting Behavior and Children's Social, Psychological and Academic Adjustment in Diverse Family Structure" Family Relations. Vol. 42, Number . , 1993. Page(s) 268-276) 61. Golombok’s and Tasker’s study revealed in its results section a clear connection between being raised in a lesbian family and homosexuality: "With respect to actual involvement in same-gender sexual relationships, there was a significant difference between groups . . . None of the children from heterosexual families had experienced a lesbian or gay relationship." By contrast, five (29%) of the 17 daughters and one (13%) of the eight boys in homosexual families reported having at least one same-sex relationship. (Tasker and Golombok, "Do Parents Influence the Sexual Orientation?" p. 7) 62. A survey taken in 1999 showed that 86% of people worldwide agreed that "[a]ll things being equal, it is better for children to be raised in a household that has a married mother and father." (Wirthlin Worldwide for The Howard Center and Brigham Young University, World Congress of Families II, November, 1999) 63. More than 70% of Americans agree that it is always best for children to be raised in a home with a married man and woman as parents. (Los Angeles Times poll, April 13-16, 1966 as cited in "Families: A Strong Yes to the ‘Traditional’ Structure," Public Perspective (February/March 1998): 20) 64. Seventy % of Americans favor children being raised in a family with a married father and mother, as opposed to a homosexual household. (Wirthlin Worldwide Poll for Family Research Council, July 23-26, 1999) 65. Homosexual relationships are characteristically unstable and fundamentally incapable of providing children the security they need. (Timothy J. Dailey, Homosexual Parenting: Placing Children at Risk, www.frc.org/get/is01j3.cfm) 66. "Homosexuals model a poor view of marriage to children by teaching that marital relationships are transitory and mostly sexual in nature, sexual relationships are primarily for pleasure rather than procreation, and monogamy in marriage is not the norm [and] should be discouraged if one wants a good ‘marital’ relationship." (Bradley P. Hayton, "To Marry or Not: The Legalization of Marriage and Adoption of Homosexual Couples," Newport Beach: The Pacific Policy Institute, 1993, p. 9) 67. 12% of the children of lesbians became active lesbians themselves, a rate which is at least four times the base rate of lesbianism in the adult female population. (Tasker and S. Golombok, "Adults Raised as Children in Lesbian Families," p. 213). 64% of young adults raised by lesbian mothers reported considering having same-sex relationships. Only 17% of young adults in heterosexual families reported the same thing. (Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz, "(How) Does the Sexual Orientation of Parents Matter?" American Sociological Review 66 [2001] 159-183) 68. Recent studies indicate that a higher proportion of children of lesbian parents are themselves apt to engage in homosexual activity. Adolescent and young adult girls raised by lesbian mothers appear to be more sexually adventurous and less chaste. (Judith Stacey and Timothy J. Biblarz, "(How) Does the Sexual Orientation of Parents Matter," American Sociological Review 66 (2001): 174, 179) 69. Most studies on the positive aspects of homosexual parenting "rely on small samples of white, middle-class, previously married lesbians and their children. As a result we cannot be confident concerning the generalizability of many of the findings." (David Demo and Martha Cox, ‘Families with Young Children: A Review of Research in the 1990s," Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62 (2000), p.889) 70. "The research comparing outcomes from homosexual parenting and heterosexual parenting are notoriously inconclusive. There is a larger body of scientific literature showing children need a mother and father for proper socialization." (Glenn T. Stanton, Examining the Research of Homosexual Parenting. www.family.org/cforum/tempforum/A0020023.html) 71. "Even individuals who believe that same-sex relationships are a legitimate choice for adults may feel that children will suffer from being reared in such families." (L. Koepke et al., "Relationship Quality in a Sample of Lesbian Couples with Children and Child-free Lesbian Couples," Family Relations 41 (1992): 228) 72. There is a tremendous amount of social science research showing that children who are raised with their married mother and father do far better in every measure of well being than children who grow up in any other family configuration. (Glenn T. Stanton, Why Marriage Matters: Reason to Believe in Marriage in Postmodern Society (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1997; David Popenoe, Life without Father, [New York; The Free Press, 1996]’ Sara McLanahan and Gary Sandefur, Growing up With a Single Parents: What Helps, What Hurts, [Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994]) Genetics and Homosexuality 73. Research studies on homosexuality by Drs. Dean Hamer, Michael Bailey, Richard Pillard, Simon LeVay, Laura Allen, and Roger Gorski have failed to show proof of a gay gene. There is no scientific evidence that shows that homosexuality is genetic. The media has sensationalized and perpetuated the myth of a homosexual gene. (Satinover, J. (1996) Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth. Grand Rapids: Baker Books) 74. Genes have to be passed on in order for something to be "genetic" or inherited. Homosexuality is, by its very nature, sterile. According to the logic of natural selection, homosexuality would have disappeared long ago if it was genetic. 75. "Like all complex behavioral and mental states, homosexuality is neither exclusively biological nor exclusively psychological, but results from an as-yet-difficult-to quantitate mixture of some genetic factors, intrauterine influences-postnatal environment (such as parents, siblings, and cultural behavior), and a complex series of repeatedly reinforced choices occurring at critical phases of development." (Jeffrey Satinover, "The Gay Gene?" The Journal of Human Sexuality, 1966) 76. Homosexuality is probably caused by multiple factors. Genetic and pre-natal hormonal influences may predispose or place people at greater risk for developing homosexual attractions. However, current research indicates that post-natal environmental influences must also be present in order for the homosexual attractions to be manifested. Some environmental and psychological factors that may play a causal role in the development of homosexuality include: (1) cross-gender, effeminate behavior in childhood, (2) gender-identity deficits, (3) hostile, detached, or absent fathers (which leads to "defensive detachment" from the father and other males), and (4) overly close, controlling or dominating mothers. (P. Scott Richards, "The Treatment of Homosexuality: Some Historical, Contemporary, and Personal Perspectives," AMCAP Journal Vol. 19, No. 1, 1993, pg. 36) 77. "The removal of homosexuality from the DSM 2 (American Psychiatric Association) was all the more remarkable when one considers that it involved the out-of-hand and peremptory disregard and dismissal not only of hundreds of psychiatric and psychoanalytic research papers and reports but also of a number of other serious studies by groups of psychologists, psychiatrists, and educators over the past 70 years. It was a disheartening attack upon psychiatric research and a blow to many homosexuals who looked to psychiatry for more help, not less." (Socarides, 1978, pp. 421-422 Sourced in: P. Scott Richards, "The Treatment of Homosexuality: Some Historical, Contemporary, and Personal Perspectives," AMCAP Journal Vol. 19, No. 1, 1993) 78. Between 1966 and 1974, more than 1,000 articles appeared in the Medline databases alone on the treatment of homosexuality, showing evidence that homosexual behavior is treatable and changeable. (Satinover, J., Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996) 79. A 2001 report by Columbia University on a study of 200 recovered homosexual men and women and found that the majority had been able to make a change in their sexual orientation. 80. "Sexual orientation, once thought to be an unchanging sexual trait, is actually quite flexible for many people, changing as a result of therapy for some, ministry, for others and spontaneously for still others." (Warren Throckmorton and Mark A. Yarhouse, "Ethical Issues in Attempts to Ban Reorientation Therapies," American Psychological Association, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, Vol. 39, No. l, June 2002, 66-75) 30% of those who enter treatment for homosexuality with an experienced therapist are able to achieve a heterosexual adjustment. An additional 30% are able to control their homosexual behavior, although they do not develop a sexual attraction to females. (Warren. Throckmorton, (1996) Efforts to modify Sexual Orientation: A review of outcome literature and ethical issues, Journal of Mental Health and Counseling 20, 4: 283-305) 81. "I believe there is rather powerful evidence that human beings are a two-sex species, designed for sexual rather than asexual reproduction. If this is true, then the absence of desire for the opposite sex represents, at a minimum, a sexual dysfunction much as impotence or infertility." (Maggie Gallagher, columnist, "Fixing Sexual Orientation," Universal Press Syndicate 2001) 82. The American Psychological Association Journal (2002) reported on scientific evidence that efforts to change thoughts, behaviors, and feeling-based sexual orientation can be successful. (Warren Throckmorton, "Initial Empirical and Clinical Findings Concerning the Change Process for Ex-gays;" Psychotherapy: Theory/Research/Practice/Training, Vol. 39, No. 1, 66-75, Copyright 2002 by the Education, www.apa.org/journals/pro/602ab.html#2 www.gcc.edu/news/releases/spring2002/5-29throckmortonresearch.htm 83. Homosexual behavior is "considerably less prevalent among the religiously devout," is "more prevalent in father-absent households and where divorce or family disruption [has] occurred," is more common in large U.S. cities than in suburban or rural areas, and is more widespread in societies where it is accepted rather than condemned. (Study of more than 9,100 adults in U.S. metropolitan areas) (Paul Cameron, and Kirk Cameron "Does Incest Cause Homosexuality?" Psychological Reports. Vol. 76, Number . , 1995. Page(s) 611-621) Incidence of Homosexual behavior 84. A study of the sexual behavior of men in the United States based on the National Survey of Men (a nationally representative sample comprised of 3,321 men aged 20-30), found that "2% of sexually active men aged twenty to thirty-nine . . . had had any same-gender sexual activity during the last ten years. Approximately 1% of the men (1.3% among whites and 0.2% among blacks) reported having had exclusively homosexual activity. (John O. G. Billy, et al., "The Sexual Behavior of Men in the United States," Family Planning Perspectives 25 (March/April 1993): 58) 85. Studies indicate that homosexuals comprise between 1 to 3% of the population. (J. Gordon Muir, "Homosexuals and the 10 % Fallacy," Wall Street Journal (March 31, 1993) 86. Contrary to estimates claiming that 10% of the American male population is homosexual, only "a very small number" of respondents reported that they were homosexual or bisexual. "98% of the sample reported that they were heterosexual." (Barbara C. Leigh "The Sexual Behavior of U.S. Adults: Results from a National Survey" American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 83, Number . , 1993. Page(s) 1400-1406) 87. In a survey of studies on homosexuals in different populations, the Archives of Sexual Behavior reported a random sample of Hawaii state residents interviewed by telephone. The study found "just about 3% of males and 1.2% of females as having engaged in same-sex or bisexual activity." (Milton Diamond, "Homosexuality and Bisexuality in Different Populations," Archives of Sexual Behavior 22 (1993): 300) 88. The percentage of men claiming to be homosexual is far less than Alfred Kinsey's 1948 claims that 10% of American males were homosexual and that 37% of men had some homosexual experience during their life. The National Survey of Men reports that "2.3% of men, age 20-39, have had 'same gender sexual activity' during the preceding ten years" and that "1.1% have had such activity exclusively." In addition, the "majority of men who have had homosexual contact report that such contact occurred 'once, twice, or rarely' for less than 2 years." (The National Survey of Men) (Stuart H. Seidman, and Ronald O. Reider "A Review of Sexual Behavior in the United States" The American Journal of Psychiatry. Vol. 151, Number . , 1994. Page(s) 330-339) 89. 2% of the sexually active men (aged 20 to 39) reported some homosexual activity within the previous 10 years. 1% reported sexual activity that was exclusively homosexual during that time period. (3,321 men, 1991) (John O. G. Billy, K. Tanfer, W. R. Grady, and D. H. Klepinger "The Sexual Behavior of Men in the United States" Family Planning Perspectives. Vol. 25, Number . , 1993. Page(s) 52-60) 90. A coalition of 31 leading pro-homosexual activist groups submitted a friend of the court brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the Lawrence v. Texas case in 2003, claiming that 2.8% of men and 1.4% of women are homosexual. (http://www.frc.org/get/cu03d1.cfm } Homosexuality and Marriage 91. A 1999 Wirthlin Worldwide survey conducted for the World Congress of Families II found that 84% of people around the world agree that "the definition of marriage is one man and one woman." (Wirthlinn Worldwide for The Howard Center and Brigham Young University, World Congress of Families II, November 1999) 92. A 2000 Gallup Poll showed that a strong majority of adults disapprove of recognizing homosexual marriage in the law. Only 34% said homosexual marriage should be recognized as valid. (Gallup Organization for CNN, USA Today, January 13-16, 2000} 93. "The purpose of marriage through the centuries has been the uniting of the two opposite sexes for the purpose of procreation, the raising and protection of children, and companionship. It is not discriminatory to deny gays and lesbians the right to marry because of the fact that they do not meet the current standard and meaning of marriage. Their unique relationships do not meet the core, opposite-sex requirement of marriage. The redefining of marriage would overturn the way that societies for centuries have defined this bedrock institution." (Roslyn Levine, quoted in the Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa, Canada, September, 2002.) 94. "The very concept of marriage is indissolubly linked to the societal imperatives of procreation and child rearing… As The Supreme Court has recognized, procreation involves the ‘very existence and survival of mankind.’ Laws protecting and preferring heterosexual marriage are a principled and necessary means of furthering this most imperative of all governmental objectives." (Richard Wilkins, "The Constitutionality of Legal Preferences for Heterosexual Marriage." Family in America, Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society, Vol. 15, No. 6, June 2001. See Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 489, 496 (1965) Skinner v. Oklahoma, 316 U.S. 535, 541 (1942,) Zablocki V. Rehail, 434 U.S. 374, 383, 386 (1978), Planned Parenthood of Southeaster Pennsylvania v. Casey 505 U.S. 833, 851 (1992)) 95. "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, http://www.frc.org/get/is01j3.cfm) 96. The five major world religions -- Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism -- recognize and uphold the natural heterosexual understanding of marriage. All five religions teach that homosexual behavior is sinful or wrong. ("Major World Religions on the Question of Marriage," Marriage Law Project, 2000) 97. Studies of previous civilizations reveal that when a society strays from the sexual ethic of marriage (a union between a male and a female), it deteriorates and eventually disintegrates . (J. D. Unwin, Sexual Regulations and Human Behavior (London: Williams & Norgate, 1933) Homosexuals and "Hate Crimes" 98. The 2000 Hate Crimes Reports finds 8,063 "bias-motivated" incidents. Of these, 1,299 were crimes based on sexual orientation. Most of these offenses were low-level. A third of these incidents fell into the nondescript category of "intimidation." (U.S. Department of Justice Statistics : fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm ) 99. Out of 15, 517 murders in the U.S. during the year 2000, 19 were found to be hate crimes-and only two were based on sexual orientation. (U.S. Department of Justice Statistics: www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm ) "We know the name of Matthew Shepard not because his case is representative of something common, but precisely because it is so rare." (Matt Kaufman, "Inflating the Hate," www.boundless.org/2002_2003/regulars/kaufman/a/0000652.html) 100. The U.S. Justice Department’s study found an epidemic of violence between homosexuals. The annual average is 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," http://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: www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm ) Homosexual Activism 101. Homosexuals are one of the most affluent groups in America. Their average household income is $55,430 compared to the national average of $32,286. Sixty % are college graduates compared to the national average of 18 %. Forty-nine % are in professional and management positions compared to the national average of 16 %. Sixty-six % go on vacations overseas compared to the national average of 14 %. ( Records compiled by Wall Street Journal, 1994) 102. Paula Ettelbrick, former legal director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, has stated, "Being queer is more than setting up house, sleeping with a person of the same gender, and seeking state approval for doing so. . . Being queer means pushing the parameters of sex, sexuality, and family, and in the process transforming the very fabric of society." (Paula Ettelbrick, quoted in William B. Rubenstein, "Since When Is Marriage a Path to Liberation?" Lesbians, Gay Men, and the Law, (New York: The New Press, 1993), pp. 398, 400) 103. "They (homosexual activists) are belligerent, coercive, and intolerant. They practice the evils that they accuse the ‘straight’ majority of practicing. . . In defiance of biology, reason, and codes of morality dating back 5,000 years, they wish not merely to have their sexual usage deemed normal, but their every demand normative." (Reid Buckley, "The U.S.A. Today: The Stunning Incoherence of American Civilization," P.E.N. Press, Inc., June 2002. 104. According to homosexual writer and activist Michelangelo Signorile, the goal of homosexuals is: "To fight for same-sex marriage and its benefits and then, once granted, redefine the institution of marriage completely, to demand the right to marry not as a way of adhering to society’s moral codes but rather to debunk a myth and radically alter an archaic institution. . . . The most subversive action lesbian and gay men can undertake . . . is to transform the notion of ’family’ entirely." (Michelangelo Signorile, "Bridal Wave," Out, December 1994.) 105. "The ‘Gay-rights movement’ was created to justify homosexual behavior. All of organized homosexuality exists as a mechanism for self-justification. No other group of people has gone to such great lengths to promote a sex act." (The Myth of Sexual Orientation [Culture Watch]) Homosexual Activism in the Schools 106. The FBI Uniform Crime Report notes a total of 140 incidents of hate crimes based on sexual orientation within U.S. schools and colleges. The nation has roughly 55 million students. The incidence rate of 140 crimes relative to 55 million students is 0.00003%. The bulk of the reported crimes fall into the category of "intimidation." (www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm The rate of "hate crimes" directed at persons because of religion is higher than that of sexual orientation.) 107. GLSEN’s Executive Director Kevin Jennings speaking about how he was able to delude the Massachusetts legislature into adopting the pro-homosexual agenda for the schools in their state. "In Massachusetts the effective reframing of this issue was the key to the success of the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth. We immediately seized upon the opponent’s calling card-safety-and explained how homophobia represents a threat to students’ safety by creating a climate where violence, name-calling, health problems, and suicide are common. Titling our report ‘Making Schools Safe for Gay and Lesbian Youth,’ we automatically threw our opponents onto the defensive and stole their best line of attack. This framing short-circuited their arguments and left them back-pedaling from day one." (Kevin Jennings, "Winning the Culture War," The Massachusetts News, "Governor’s Commission for Gay Youth Retreats to ‘Safety’ and ‘Suicide,’ December 2000) 108. "Exposure to and experimentation with homosexual behavior carries serious risks that school officials should be aware of in order to protect students. There is concern that by allowing access by homosexual activist organizations and by establishing policies that have the effect of normalizing homosexual behavior, schools may have become responsible for physical and emotion harm to the students entrusted to their care." ( "The Legal Liability Associated with Homosexuality Education in Public Schools," Citizens for Community Values, www.ccv.org) 109. Margot E. Ables, Coordinator, HIV/AIDS Program, Massachusetts Department of Education and self-proclaimed lesbian: "We always feel like we are fighting against people who say publicly, who say privately, that being queer is not at all about sex…we believe otherwise. We think that sex is central to every single one of us, and particularly queer youth." (Presenter at GLSEN Teach Out! Conference at Tufts University, Boston, recorded by Scott T. Whiteman, Peabody, Massachusetts, Affidavit re: GLSEN/BOSTON conference, April 18, 2000) 110. Leif Mitchell, community educator/trainer for Planned Parenthood of Connecticut and a GLSEN National board member, in a presentation to Massachusetts teachers and students explaining "Strategies for Combating the ‘Religious Wrong’ in your community:" "Focus on Violence Prevention. Always go back to the issues of safety to explain why Gay/Straight Alliances need to be formed. Violence helps us! It is very important to tie the Religious Right to hatred." (GLSEN Teach Out! Conference at Tufts University, Boston) 111. In spite of the dangers posed to students through homosexual behavior and lifestyle, the National Education Association (NEA) has concluded that homosexuality is acceptable, normal, and should be validated within the public school system. Under the banner of diversity and "safety," the NEA has commissioned a Task Force on Sexual Orientation in order to put in place a comprehensive homosexual advocacy program, bypassing customary program ratification by the NEA membership at large. (www.nea.org/bt/1-students/gayles.pdf www.nea.org/nr/02taskforce.html) 112. The National Conference for Community Justice (NCCJ) actively sponsors national youth leadership training programs such as the Anytown program. Through on-campus recruitment activities and teacher referral, Anytown seeks students who have leadership capabilities for intensive diversity training and multicultural training which includes efforts to mainstream homosexuality. Regarding the issue of sexual orientation, NCCJ advocates: "An inclusive school culture works to affirm, not just tolerate…" homosexual behavior. (www.nccj.org/nccj/nccj.nsf/articleall/4543?opendocument&1#878, http://65.214.34.18/TaskForce.pdf) 113. Parents, Friends, and Families of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) launched a national campaign called "From Our House to the Schoolhouse," which "represents the next step in PFLAG’s ongoing nationwide commitment to our number one priority, creating an accepting school environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students, teachers and staff." ( www.pflag.org/education/schools/ourhouse.html "We recognize that schools are ‘ground zero’ in our efforts…" www.pflag.org/education/schools.html)
Conclusion Homosexual attraction has its origins in predisposed characteristics, unmet childhood needs, and in the environment. It is a developmental disorder that leads to negative behaviors with negative consequences -- adversely impacting individuals and society at large. The choice to act on same-sex attraction or to seek help to overcome these tendencies can be freely made by the individual. Homosexual behaviors can accurately be described as risky and should not be mainstreamed into society or equated with civil rights. Compassion for homosexuals should not include drastic social and legal measures to accommodate the demands of this small, but powerful minority. Bodies of government, courts of law, schools, and other organizations under pressure to accept the homosexual agenda will do well to remember that the demands and claims of homosexual activists are self-serving and result in no societal good. Social science research clearly demonstrates that the homosexual agenda does not promote the best interests of families or individuals.
Where can I get more information? · National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) Publications, 16633 Ventura Blvd., Suite 1340, Encino, CA 91436 (818) 789-4440 (www.narth.com ). Reid Buckley, "The USA Today: The Stunning Incoherence of American Civilization," P.E.N. Press, Inc., June 2002. "The Myth of Sexual Orientation," Culture Watch, Swan Research-- a division of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society, Vol. 3, Number 1. (www.profam.org). Jeffrey Satinover, "The Gay Gene?" The Journal of Human Sexuality, 1996. Richard Wilkins, "The Constitutionality of Legal Preferences for Heterosexual Marriage," The Family in America, Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society, Vol. 15, No. 6, June 2001. Dale O’Leary, The Gender Agenda, Vital Issues Press, Lafayette, Louisiana. 1997. Claire Renzetti, Violent Betraya.l Ronald Bayer, Homosexuality and American Psychiatry: The Politics of Diagnosis, Princeton University Press, 1987. Timothy F. Murphy, Gay Science: The Ethics of Sexual Orientation Research Columbia University Press, 1997. Robert T. Francoeur, Patricia Koch, and David L. Weis, Sexuality in America: Understanding our Sexual Values and Behaviors, The Continuum Publishing Company, 1998. [especially pages 148-150]. Chandler Burr, A Separate Creation: The Search for the Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation, Hyperion Press, 1996. Timothy J. Dailey, "Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse," and "Homosexual Parenting" Family Research Council www.frc.org www.frc.org www.familyfacts.ca www.cwa.org heartbeatnews@compuserve.com (Dale O’Leary: series of excellent articles on AIDS and same-sex attraction). www.citizenlink.org Appendix A New Zealand birth cohort study, which has followed 1,007 individuals since birth, Fergusson et al, found that, at age 21, the 28 classified as gay, lesbian or bisexual were significantly more likely to have had mental health problems than the 979 classed as heterosexual. The following is an excerpt from a chart included in the report: GLB HETERO Suicidal Ideation 67.9% 29.0%
Suicide Attempt 32.1% 7.1%
Psychiatric disorders age 14 -21
Major depression 71.4% 38.2%
Generalized anxiety Disorder 28.5% 12.5%
Conduct disorder 32.1% 11.0%
Nicotine dependence 64.3% 26.7%
Other substance abuse/dependence 60.7% 44.3%
Multiple disorders 78.6% 38.2% In other words at age 21 the GLB (Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual) portion of the cohort has significantly more problems in every category.
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