How LGBTQ issues threaten families (Hint: it may not be what some think)
Some say that equality for LGBTQ individuals threatens families, as if LGBTQ individuals being their authentic selves diminishes opposite-sex couples.
I’m beginning to wonder if it’s the conflict about LGBTQ issues that threatens families. Listen to this painful observation by Stephanie Pappas, a director of Equality Utah: “It was so sad, because families were literally being torn apart. Parents were torn between loving their children and loving their church. . . . We knew of young adults who were banished from their households. People were in such turmoil about ‘How do I adhere to what the Church is saying?’. . . . So there was a rash of homeless youth that were coming out of homes” (from the well-documented and highly readable history, Gay Rights and the Mormon Church: Intended Actions, Unintended Consequences, by scientist and historian Gregory A. Prince, page 166. While painful to read, it actually helps to understand the history in order to better grasp the context of today’s issues).
In my own town of San Antonio, LGBTQ youth are indeed overly represented among homeless youth. (I suspect that is true everywhere.) Entirely too often, youth discover their sexual orientation, come out to their families, and find themselves on the streets with no way to support themselves. THAT tears families apart: having LGBTQ folks grow into their authentic selves, and family members rejecting them.
In our previous post, “What are REAL threats to the family?” guest author Jeff Case points out that “The families of those sitting in the room that day were at risk [for] a different set of reasons. . . : excessive debt, domestic violence, various forms of abuse, infidelity, etc. [The threat is] not, in fact, the pursuit of civil rights by the LGBTQ community. The only threat that I am to my congregation by being out and vocal is that sometimes I push people into evaluating their assumptions.”
When we think about defending families, some of the best tools are acceptance, love, and genuine respect for ALL God’s children — and ALL means 100%.
-Marci