Ellen Goodman thinks it is closed-minded to oppose homosexuality ("Now we're told to be open minded to the closed minded," 7/23/98). But closed-minded means shutting out certain important facts and that is exactly what Ms. Goodman has done.

Unknown to the politically correct, because they refuse to hear it, is the devastating effect of the homosexual lifestyle on health and life. Homosexuality is not given the scrutiny that would show it to be much different from the popularly portrayed "Ozzie and Harry," the couple next door. A major researcher, Dr. Paul Cameron (who first showed the dangers of second hand smoke), because of pressure by the gay community, is frequently denied the opportunity to present his research on the adverse effects of homosexual behavior.

The findings are believable as well as verifiable although the opponents shout and shake their fists. In one study, if a young man's first sexual experience is homosexual -- whether it be consensual, seduced or forced -- the experience is 60% likely to be followed by an ongoing homosexual orientation. (If the first experience is heterosexual, the results are over 95% heterosexual, and the actual number of homosexuals in the population is about 2%.)

This fact must be combined with the admission by adult homosexual men that they, when themselves over age 21, have had sex with boys under age 16. (Lesbians have about a 90% likelihood that they were sexually abused, and thus undoubtedly have a great deal of anger towards men.)

What does this add up to? It says that we are not dealing with a fixed genetic immutable characteristic like skin color (as the "civil rights model" strategists have tried to frame it). Rather, there is a powerful effect of experience. And sexual activity has a nearly addictive character. These are facts that any honest introspective person recognizes. We know that if allowed to freely follow our impulses, we could easily and quickly wreck our own lives and those of countless others. Affirmation of this harmful behavior, because of the patterns of recruitment, leads to spread.

On the other hand, there are many who have come out of the homosexual lifestyle and successfully changed their behavior and even their attractions, despite the position of the American Psychological Association (having been harassed and threatened by the gay lobby) that it is unethical for therapists who treat homosexuals, even if they want to change!

Most crimes against gays are not by uninterested parties but by other gays. The violence is a result of the tangled web of broken relationships and betrayals. The longing for permanence in sexual intimacy is not completely lost in the incredible promiscuity that is the norm for male homosexuals, but in typical male fashion, the inability to deal with feelings leads to an increase in violence.

It is not closed-minded to look at inconvenient facts and want the very best for each individual as well as for our nation. Christians, although they do not always live up to their ideals, are not supposed to hate homosexuals, but to love them as God loves them. That includes rescuing them from destructive behavior and protecting the innocent.

Resources

National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality.
http://www.narth.com

Restore Hope Network http://www.restoredhopenetwork.org/

Hope for Wholeness http://www.hopeforwholeness.org/

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