I suppose there is no right or wrong answer to the controversial topics I would like to discuss, so my intention is not to shove my opinion down anyone’s throat or to change your core beliefs. My sole purpose is to broaden the thought process or mindsets of the individuals that have a very narrow-minded perspective of what some of these problems really are.

So what is it that makes people think that they are above the LGBT community? Newsflash: they are just as much of a person as you are.

“It’s unnatural. It defies nature.” Let’s take a look at nature then, shall we? There are several species in the wild that engage in homosexual behavior. While the goal may not be to reproduce, the purpose of this behavior is said to “cement social bonds.” Let’s define what a relationship is: “the state of being connected by blood or marriage.” Weird so, just how heterosexual mating strengthens the bond of a relationship, the copulation between two organisms of the same sex ALSO strengthens the relationship between the two of them. Weird concept.

I did an extremely superficial recap of the studies that have been done and the descriptions of them, so here is where I gleaned my information: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150206-are-there-any-homosexual-animals

“It is morally wrong.” How is being who you are a moral wrong? Do you think people wake up one day and randomly declare that they are gay in order to offend you or your religion or belief system? Did you ever think about the fact that, I don’t know, maybe that’s just who they are? Why would someone choose to be something that makes living in our society a hell of a lot harder? We also have the argument that homosexuality is a disease and that you can be treated or make the decision to change. Let’s take a moment to think about this. If a man does not find women attractive, how are you going to force them into finding women attractive? And let’s say that you do force them into a heterosexual relationship. A man in a relationship with a woman that he is not attracted to sounds like a loveless relationship that ends in divorce—another concept that people find wrong, so pick your poison. In addition, if you weren’t aware, homosexuality was removed as a disease back in 1973 because of the studies of Evelyn Hooker. Her studies showed that experts in their respective fields were incapable of determining, which tests were that of a homosexual or heterosexual. It also delineated that some homosexual men were actually better adapted than heterosexual men.

Here you can check the study out: http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/02/myth-buster.aspx

http://www.apa.org/research/action/gay.aspx

“It denies a child either a mother or a father. It is in the child’s best interests that he be raised under the influence of his natural father and mother.” So what about children that lose one or both of their parents because of death? And what about the mother that is left by a man to raise a child alone? From my point of view, it doesn’t matter who is raising a child as long as they are in a nurturing environment that promotes a positive and healthy lifestyle. Whether a child is raised by a heterosexual or homosexual couple or a single parent, they are just as capable of being raised well. Everyone that I have grown up with has been raised by a heterosexual couple, and almost all of them have used illegal substances, shop lifted, had premarital sex, gotten pregnant, or been arrested at some point in their life. If you think that a homosexual couple will make a child any more likely to participate in any illegal or frowned upon behavior, you are horribly naïve and oblivious to what the average teenager does. Anyway, there are so many children that are parentless and waiting to be adopted, and you are going to tell me that there will be a negative effect if a homosexual couple adopts a child and does everything in their power to give them the best situation possible?

“It is a sterile relationship and does not allow for procreation.” There are people all over the world that simply do not want to have children. Does that put them in the wrong too?

“It is a sin.” This has to be my favorite argument. I would like to visit James 2:10: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” You are on the SAME LEVEL as a person that “sins” by being a homosexual. Lying, stealing, murder, homosexuality, etc. all carries the same weight in sin as explicitly stated in the bible.

To put aside all of the harsh arguments that people have, it is as simple as saying that love is love. After the initial infuriation I experience when people think that they are more entitled than someone that is different than themselves, I feel a deep sadness. I have many friends that are gay or lesbian, and they all are just as good of people, just as funny, just as enjoyable to be around, just as big hearted, just as generous, just as helpful, just as considerate, just as caring, just as capable as anyone else. It hurts me that people want to restrict the people that I love and care for from getting the same happiness and opportunities that heterosexuals enjoy. It’s not a disease, it’s not a defect, it’s not a choice; these people love who they love and are who they are, and they should be able to express that. No one can force themselves into being attracted to someone, and if they tried to, that isn’t fair to themselves or the other person involved in the relationship. I want my friends to be able to be happy. I want them to be able to get that job that they worked so hard for without being turned away or discriminated simply because of their sexual orientation. That isn’t fair, and it is unjust. Why are people so worried about what other people are doing when it has no effect on them? What negativity are you experiencing from someone being homosexual besides the fact that it “grosses you out” or “disgusts you” just because you are narrow-minded? Just because someone is gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender does not mean that you have to be as well! They are simply expressing their interests just as you express yours. The LGBT community deserves, as humans, to be treated with respect and to be entitled to the same rights that every other person has. Love is love and everyone deserves the opportunity to be happy.