And as a PFLAG facilitator, I can attest to the fact that it is still happening. I simply cannot fathom any parent doing this, but they do.
About 40% of homeless youth are LGBT and nearly all homeless youth service providers in the U.S. now serve LGBT youth, according to a comprehensive report on LGBT youth homelessness released Thursday.
Nearly seven in 10 (68%) respondents indicated that family rejection was a major factor contributing to LGBT youth homelessness, making it the most cited factor. More than half (54%) of respondents indicated that abuse in their family was another important factor contributing to LGBT homelessness.
Statistically, LGBT youth make up no more than 10% of that population segment, yet total 40% of homeless youth.
And from my perspective, religion is a major factor in a majority of these cases, which explains why my involuntary gag reflex response kicks in each time I hear some anti-gay preacher talking about "Family Values".
Family Values my arse!
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Fundamentalist and most Evangelical believers pick and choose which moral codes and proscriptions in the Bible they believe are applicable in today's world.
Unfortunately, the ancient attitudes against homosexuality reflected in the Bible are alive and well even though other Biblical practices and prohibitions are treated as not applicable, i.e., eating pork, mixing certain fabrics, slavery, forced bondage and marriage (rape) of women taken as spoils of war, stoning adulterers, stoning children for disobedience, intentional genocide, etc.
It's not a coincidence that many Christians in states who had legal prohibitions against interracial marriage (up until 1967)justified this practice by appealing to Old Testament scriptures. Many Christians are now using the Bible as justification for civil statutes against gay marriage. Virtually the same groups and states are now claiming that state authority concerning gay marriage is autonomous from federal authority. The same argument was made to justify prohibitions and even prosecutions against interracial marriage and, earlier, to justify owning slaves.
If the right of all U.S. citizens for Marriage Equality is approved, many states will continue to refuse to issue marriage licences for legal marriage between gays. There will be more lawsuits and court challenges to come.
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