Despite the seemingly inordinate attention the issue of homosexuality receives in the press and on the evening news, there is much misunderstanding between opposing interest groups involved with this delicate and controversial issue. In addition, there remains much confusion over the details of sociological surveys and scientific research pertaining to homosexuality. Many are uncertain about what the proper response to homosexuality is. Is it a legitimate alternate lifestyle, thoroughly deviant behavior, or something else? The facts presented here are intended to help individuals clear up ambiguities and misperceptions and, most importantly, come to a compassionate yet firm stance on homosexuality and with homosexuals.
According to the Governor's Task Force on Lesbian and Gay Minnesotans, the political and social goals of homosexuals include:
Many of these recommendations are no different from the national agenda which homosexuals have pursued since they adopted a "Gay Rights Platform" at a 1972 convention in Chicago. 1
Until 20 years ago the overwhelming consensus from both behavioral and biological
science was that homosexuality was learned/influenced by the home environment
and homosexual contact. The push by gays and lesbians for moral acceptance
has led to the claim that homosexuals are born with a desire for same-sex sexual
contact that is innate, natural and undeniable. This assertion was first reinforced
when the American Psychiatric Association "declassified" homosexuality
as a mental illness (despite a majority opposition). Those who maintain that
homosexuality is biologically determined generally point to research by Dean
Hamer published in a Science magazine article suggesting that a region
of the X chromosome was involved in male sexual orientation in some individuals.
Since that landmark report, there has been considerable subsequent follow-up
research concerning twins and homosexuality, left-handedness and homosexuality,
reparative therapy, etc. This can have the effect
of burying the layman under a myriad of confusing numbers from numerous studies
with seemingly contradictory results. What is the layman to make of these studies?:
· Dr. Simon LeVay’s controversial brain study (LeVay, 1991: 19 homosexual men and 16 males assumed to be heterosexual) claiming cellular anomalies among the homosexuals was biased (it was done by a gay man who admits to an ideological slant) and proposed far less than most who cite it are willing to admit. While in some homosexual males, a certain chemical linked to testosterone had a concentration level close to that of females, LeVay had no explanation for the correlation, and no causal link was established. In addition, the study ignored the possibility that behavior or AIDS itself caused the neurological changes. LeVay’s results have not since been duplicated. 2
· Using a 14,000+ Australian twin collection, it was found that if one twin was homosexual, 38% of the time his identical brother was too. Genetics seem to suggest that if a trait (i.e. homosexuality) were biological, surely all individuals with identical genetics should share that trait. Concerning homosexuality, however, studies such as the aforementioned Australian one have not borne this out. 3
· Hamer’s report proposing a genetic link to homosexuality. (Hamer, 1993, like LeVay’s two years earlier, suggests far less than many who tout its results realize.) Hamer proposed that sexuality is a “complex trait” probably formed by a combination of “multiple genes, biological, environmental, and sociocultural influences.” 4
· A May 9th, 2001 study by Dr. Robert Spitzer of Columbia University (a man who, incidentally, was instrumental in the APA’s declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness) concluded that sexual orientation can be changed and often results in increased self-esteem and emotional satisfaction. 5
· Dr. Charles Socarides (Albert Einstein College): "Psychotherapy appears to be unsuccessful in only a small number of patients of any age in whom a long habit is combined with . . . lack of desire to change." 6
· One group of homosexual researchers states: "The experiences of homosexual arousal during childhood and adolescence and involvement in genital-type homosexual activities were very strong indicators of future, adult homosexuality." 7
· Dr. Elizabeth Moberly (Cambridge) notes several factors frequently present in homosexual development: 8
o Abuse, either physical or sexual (85-90% of all lesbians have been victims of sexual abuse).
o Traumatic family upheaval at critical periods in the child's life.
o Rebellion--need to defy authority (parents, society).
o Opportunity to engage in homosexual behavior.
Homosexuals fight for protection by drawing an analogy between themselves and African Americans before the civil rights movement, and by presenting themselves as severely persecuted.
· Is the analogy reasonable?
o People of color cannot abandon their color the way many homosexuals are abandoning their homosexuality.
o Protection of homosexuals is based on behavior held as immoral by many. An African American or a Caucasian are classified as such by morally neutral categories of skin color; a practicing homosexual seeks social sanction of inherently illicit activities, not of an immutable or constitutionally recognized trait.
· Is the discrimination as serious as we are led to believe?
o Gay households--without family responsibilities--have an average annual income of $55,430 (versus $32,144 for the general population, and $12,166 for disadvantaged African American households).9
o Homosexuals have been elected and appointed to high-level positions in government that allow them to publicly push their agenda (e.g. Minnesota State Reps Karen Clark and Scott Dibble, Governor Ventura’s Chief of Staff Steven Bosacker, and former State Sen. Allan Spear, as well as Massachusetts Congressman Rep. Barney Frank on the national level).
o From July 1, 1993 through November 30, 1999, charges of discrimination due to sexual orientation as defined by the MN Gay Rights Law have represented an extremely small percentage (1.7%) of the total 14,974 complaints filed with the Human Rights Department. In only 15 of the cases was there a finding of probable cause. 10
o In fact, the intent of the law was more than addressing perceived discrimination; it was intended to change public opinion. According to the bill’s senate author Senator Allan Spear, addressing the impact of the legislation, “I don’t think any Civil Rights Legislation can be judged on the basis of how many cases are brought and won under it… You judge it in terms of what it has done to change attitudes.” 11
· Based on Kinsey's famous but flawed 1948 report, gays claim 10% of the population is homosexual (a figure Kinsey himself did not state). Numerous articles have concurred in much smaller, more accurate numbers:
o A massive University of Chicago study found only 2.0% of men and .9% of women identifying themselves as gay. 12
o From the magazine Science: Only 4.1% of men/2.6% of women had ever had homosexual intercourse. 13
o From The Wall Street Journal: Citations of multiple studies from Europe and North America show exclusive homosexuality to be under 1% for many varied populations. 14
Homosexual activity reveals a variety of dangerous behaviors, including:
· Extreme promiscuity, even in spite of the fatal consequences of AIDS, for both men and women:
o The average gay man has over 50 lifetime partners, while as many as 83% reported having over 50 partners in their lifetime. While 83% of heterosexuals are monogamous, only 2% of homosexuals claim to be monogamous. 15
o By contrast, average sex partners per year for all adult Americans is 1.16 Even with the rise in heterosexual promiscuity, the average American claims 4 lifetime sexual partners. 17
· A higher incidence of pedophilia and sexual abuse:
o Two homosexual researchers found that 73% of male homosexuals had had sex as adults with boys 19 or younger. 18
o A Canadian report noted that 91% of non-familial molestations were committed by clear homosexuals. 19
· Same-gender sex, which takes the form of oral or anal sodomy or mutual masturbation.
o A wide spectrum of perverse activities, as noted in various studies of sexual practices. In some cases, certain behaviors appeared to decline somewhat during the mid-1980s. Newer research, however, has demonstrated several crucial tendencies: that homosexuals in small cities, while relatively less promiscuous, engage in many high risk practices; that many younger gays ignore the dangers of homosexual lifestyle; and that a significant percentage--as high as 1/3-- of homosexuals who initiate "safe sex" routines revert to the strange and deadly acts which they sought to curb. 20
Due to their use of excretory organs for sex and their high level of promiscuity, homosexuals open themselves up to serious illnesses, some of which are unique to gays (e.g. "gay bowel disease," exotic ailments caught via anal sex).
· Jaffe's 1983 study of 170 male homosexuals found a striking array of diseases: 21
o 77% had contracted gonorrhea at some point in their lives;
o 44% had suffered from syphilis;
o Nearly 30% had been treated for parasitic diarrhea;
o Around 90% had used marijuana; over half had used cocaine; and about half had used LSD.
· Others facts of note:
o 30% of all 20 year old gay men will be HIV positive or dead of AIDS by the time they are age 30. 22
o The infection rate for infectious hepatitis B is 20-50 times greater for homosexual males than for heterosexual males. It is estimated that 1/2 to 3/4 of homosexual men have or have had this disease. 23
o Homosexual men accounted for 13.2% of gonorrhea cases in 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same study reported a frightening increase in the AIDS among gay men - an increase that statistically resembles the AIDS explosion of the 1980’s. 4.4 percent of gay and bisexual men ages 23-39 are newly infected with HIV each year. 24
o Between 25 and 33% of homosexuals are alcoholic (vs. 7-10% for the general population). 25
· Today homosexual males account for 54% of all reported AIDS cases.26 The greatest risk factor for sexual transmission of the disease is receptive anal intercourse, in which the rectum is frequently torn. Even without tears, semen can easily penetrate the rectal wall, enter the blood stream and wreak havoc with the immune system.
o Note that the vagina is not susceptible to the passing of semen beyond the vaginal wall.
o The cost of dealing with these health risks is difficult to calculate. The annual medical costs of caring for AIDS patients alone are expected to increase from $5 billion in 1990 to over $10 billion in 1993.
· Although AIDS has claimed the lives of so many homosexuals, large percentages of gays either fail to have themselves tested for the HIV (50% in a Los Angeles study) or continue to have sex with seropositive partners. The same Los Angeles report revealed several remarkable statistics for the 823 male subjects, including: 27
o 64% had engaged in "definitely" unsafe practices (e.g. unprotected anal intercourse in the past two months);
o 81% reported "possibly or definitely" unsafe sex in that same time;
o Only 9% restricted themselves to "definitely safe" activities (e.g. mutual masturbation);
o 6% had used IV drugs, 3% had shared needles, 50% had smoked marijuana, 26% had used cocaine.
· The gay lifestyle profoundly affects the homosexual life span. A 1998 study suggested that a homosexual lifestyle, on the average, shortens one’s lifespan by roughly 20 years.
The facts lead us to conclude that homosexual behavior is inherently perverse and unhealthy. A perusal of gay publications shows that homosexuality revolves around bizarre and dangerous expressions of lust (cf. the revealingly named "You Can Do It All! Just Do It Safer," by the Gay Men's Health Crisis, Inc.).
With little resistance from school boards and administrations, gay activist groups such as GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network), GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), Human Rights Campaign, and PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), among others, are working to establish an environment in schools, through gay-oriented peer mediation, counseling, and the creation of student led organizations such as GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance), that encourages individuals of confused sexuality to “come out of the closet” and individuals of a heterosexual orientation to embrace and celebrate this “diversity.” “Educators need to be supportive of homosexuality, even if we have no students who are out of the closet,” comments one educator. 28 What have been the fruits of these concerted, systematic efforts to use the public school system as a vehicle for inundating students with a deluge of propaganda and “sensitivity training” programs?:
· The Out for Equity/Out for Good manual used by the Minneapolis and Saint Paul School systems as a part of their Safe Schools program insists that current curriculum must be reassessed because of its tacit bias. The manual suggests that teachers “need to incorporate GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered) issues throughout the curriculum… Teachers can address the impact of sexual identity on works by GLBT people already included in our curriculum, such as the novels of Virginia Woolf, the music of Tchaikovsky, or the poetry of Walt Whitman. Finally, teachers can undo the “hidden heterosexism” of the curriculum such as the exclusive use of opposite-sex couples in math word problems and foreign language exercises.” 29
· The manual refers educators to something called “Riddle’s Scale of Homophobia: Attitudes Toward Differences.” The ratings on this scale, in order from most homophobic to least, are “Repulsion, Pity, Tolerance, Acceptance, Support, Admiration, Appreciation, and Nurturance.” Acceptance, which the scale says “makes accommodation for another’s differences,” is insufficient. All educators have a minimal responsibility to be at the Support level that “works to safeguard the rights of those who are different.”
· Among the manual’s guidelines for GLBT Youth Counselors is the instruction to “take political action in the larger society to confront sexism, homophobia, and heterosexism. Advocate for legislative and social reform.”At Silverlake High School in Kingston, MA, the ninth grade textbook teaches that "sexuality is a matter of trial and error and personal choice," and "Testing your ability to function sexually and give pleasure to another person may be less threatening in the early teens with people of your own sex.” Also, "You may come to the conclusion that growing up means rejecting the values of your parents." 30
· In Framingham, students were asked: "Is it possible that heterosexuality is a phase you will grow out of?" "Are you heterosexual because you fear the same sex?" "If you've never slept with anyone of the same sex, how do you do know you wouldn't prefer it?" "Is it possible you need a good gay experience?" The principal gave this taciturn reply, "This was not advocacy--just thoughtful and constructive lessons in tolerance." 31
· David La Fontaine, the administrator of the MA Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, has commented that in confidential homosexuality counseling courses, they take a child they feel is confused about his sexuality and without his parents' knowledge and consent, they bring him to a homosexual counselor to help him talk through this. In addition, he defends this practice because parents' values need to be improved upon. 32
· Granting homosexuals their "rights" necessarily means that others, especially those who find homosexuality morally unacceptable, will lose theirs.
· Parents will no longer be able to legally challenge the kind of educators teaching their children.
· Businesses and renters will find themselves unable to oversee an important component of the moral environment.
· Adding homosexuals as a protected class will have a chilling effect on businesses and others public entities, since companies, landlords, and the like will bear the burden of proof that a firing, eviction, or other disciplinary action was not due to discrimination on the basis of sexual preference. As noted earlier, litigation in these matters very often ends up in a "no cause" verdict, and yet costs the defendants precious time and countless dollars.
· In addition, "gay rights" statutes-- which represent some increased support for homosexuality--will likely increase the percentage of people, especially youths, drawn into the destructive homosexual lifestyle.
o Studies have indicated that 60% or more of practicing homosexuals first encountered homosexuality as young people who were approached by an older, often adult, homosexual. 33
o Public school courses condoning homosexuality appear to be igniting a trend toward high school and junior high students identifying themselves as gay or bisexual as a means of being seen as "in" or in order to rebel.
· The party line among homosexual activist groups is that homosexuality is as unalterable a characteristic as race, age, or eye color. The American Psychiatric Association and many other reputable groups affirm this position. As a result there are many who don’t hear the message of former homosexuals. A recent study by Dr. Robert Spitzer, a reputable Ivy League psychologist long associated with the APA’s declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder, affirmed that highly motivated homosexuals can indeed change their sexual orientation. There are numerous counseling centers and support groups for homosexuals seeking to become heterosexual. Many are run by former homosexuals who have chosen to provide support and direction to those who know the discontent and emptiness that they once knew. The following organizations are support groups and counseling centers for homosexuals or those who have friends or family that are homosexual.
NARTH (National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuals)
16633 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 1340.
Encino CA 91436-1801
Phone: (818)-789-4440
Fax: (805)-373-5084
Website: www.narth.comOasis
Riverside Assembly
20924 Hwy. 7
West Hutchinson, MN 55350
Phone: (320)-587-2074 #18
Email: oasisag@usa.netEagles’ Wings
P.O. Box 11246
Minneapolis, MN 55411
Phone: (612)-781-4110
Website: www.ewm.org email: info@ewm.orgOutpost
P.O. Box 22429
Robbinsdale, MN 55422-0429
Phone: (763)-592-4700
Website: www.outpost-inc.com email: hope@outpost-inc.comSimon Ministries
P.O. Box 11041
Minneapolis, MN 55411
Phone: (612)-521-6160
Website: www.simonmin@qwest.netKEYS Ministry
P.O. Box 97
Wykoff, MN 55990
Phone: (507)-352-4110
Website: www.keysministry.com email: keysmin@means.com
To recognize homosexuals as hurting but worthwhile persons and to help them leave their lifestyle means we must:
· Develop the personal relationships necessary for such an undertaking, and
· Compassionately but steadfastly resist their political agenda.
Notes:
1 For the gay rights platform, see Enrique Rueda, The Homosexual Network (Greenwich, Conn: Devin-Adair, 1982), pp. 202-203.3.
2 Simon Le Vays work appeared in Science magazine (253:1991).
3 http://www.jhu.edu/~newslett/04-16-98/News/5.html3Bailey, JM; Dunne,MP; Martin,NG (2000): Genetic and Environmental influences on sexual orientation and its correlates in an Australian twin sample. J. Pers. Social Psychology 78, 524-536.
4 Dean Hamer, “Genetics and Male Sexual Orientation,” Science, vol. 285, August 6, 1999.
6 C. Socarides, "Homosexuality: Basic Concepts and Psychodynamics," International Journal of Psychiatry, v. 10, March 1972, p. 118.
7 Bel, Weinberg, and Hammersmith, Sexual Preference, (Bloomington, IN: IU Press, 1989), p. 113.
8 Elizabeth Moberly, Psychogenesis (Routledge, 1983).
9 "Overcoming a Deep-Rooted Reluctance, More Firms Advertise to Gay Community," The Wall Street Journal, July 18, 1991. See also "Gays Are Affluent but Often Overlooked Market," Marketing News, December 24, 1990.
10 Figures received from the MNDepartment of Human Rights.
11 Christopher Sprung, “Goodbye to all that: Spear to retire after nearly three decades in Senate.” St. Paul Legal Ledger, May 15, 2000.
12 Edward O. Loamann, John H. Gagnon, Robert T. Michael, and Stuart Michaels, The Social Organization of Sexuality, (Chicago, University of Chicago Press 1994), Ch. 8.
13 "French Venture Where U.S. Fears to Tread, Science, vol 257, July 3, 1992, p. 25.
14 "Homosexuals and the 10% Fallacy," The Wall Street Journal, March 31, 1993.
15 Jeffrey Satinover, M.D., “Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth,” Hamewith Books: Grand Rapids, MI.
16 Edward O. Loamann, John H. Gagnon, Robert T. Michael, and Stuart Michaels, The Social Organization of Sexuality, (Chicago, University of Chicago Press 1994), Ch. 8.
17 Jeffrey Satinover, M.D., “Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth,” Hamewith Books: Grand Rapids, MI.
18 K. Jay and A. Young, The Gay Report (New York, NY: Summit, 1979), p. 5, p. 275.
19 W. L. Marshall, "Early Onset and Deviant Sexuality in Child Molesters," Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 6:1991, pp. 323-336.
20 cf. Jeffrey A. Kelly, et. al., "AIDS/Human Immunodeficiency Virus Risk Behavior Among Gay Men in Small Cities," Archives of Internal Medicine, vol. 152, November 1992, pp. 2293-2297. For the figures on relapse, see J. G. Joseph, et. al., "Perceived Risk of AIDS," Journal of Applied Social Psychology, #17, 1987, pp. 231-250.
21 cf. Harold W. Jaffe, et. al., "National Case-Control Study of Kaposi's Sarcoma . . . in Homosexual Men . . .," Annals of Internal Medicine, August 1983, vol 99, number 2, pp. 145-151.
22 E.L. Goldman, “Psychological Factors Generate HIV Resurgence in Young Gay Men,” Clinical Psychiatry News, October 1994, p. 5.
23 cf. P. Buchanan and J. Muir, "Gay Times and Diseases, The American Spectator, August 1984, pp. 17-18, and J. Kassler, Gay Men's Health (New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1983), p. 38.
24 “Risks and Remedies,” World, p. 93, June 16, 2001.
25 "Alcoholics Anonymous and Gay American Men," Journal of Homosexuality, vol. 14, no. 2, 1987, p. 254.
26 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report 10(1), June 1998.
27 Lawrence Linn, et al., “Recent Sexual Behavior Among Homosexual Men Seeking Primary Medical Care,” Archives of Internal Medicine, vol. 149, Dec. 1989, pp. 2685-2690.
28School Shouldn’t Hurt: Lifting the Burden from Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Youth, A Report of the Rhode Island Task Force on Gay Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Youth, March 1999.
29 ” ‘Out for Equity’ Resource Manual,” www.stpaul.k12.mn.us.
30 from a transcript of an audiotape, “The Homosexual Agenda in Massachusetts Schools,” Courtesy of Parents Rights Coalition. Robert J. Kus,
33 cf. Bell, Weinberg, and Hammersmith, op. cit. Homosexual contact seems to be an extremely important developmental factor.
Minnesota Family Council / Minnesota
Family Institute
2855 Anthony Lane South, Minneapolis MN, 55418-3265
phone 612.789.8811, fax 612.789.8858, www.mfc.org