You seem to enjoy statistics. How about these? I've bolded one just for you, as it's particularly pertinent to your posts on the subject:
10percent.org
Facts or hard truths are hard to come by in the area of homosexuality. One is dealing with intensely personal issues, and the topic itself is so threatening and incendiary that people have difficulty being honest. Here are some precepts accepted as truth by We Are Family:
1.
Homosexuality is not a chosen or learned behavior pattern in the vast majority of cases. It is an orientation that is in-born and an essential part of the individual involved, just as is the heterosexual orientation of the majority of the population.
2.
"Choice" is a misused and inappropriate term when it comes to homosexuality just as it would be for most heterosexuals if they were asked to be celibate or to adopt a homosexual lifestyle. Only a small proportion of the population, including some with a strong religious calling who choose celibacy, make a choice contrary to their essential natures and are successful in acting out that choice, but most cannot.
3.
The assertion that gays are seeking "special rights" is false. What they want is the removal of legally sanctioned discriminatory practices and protection from persecution and discrimination as a result of their sexual orientation.
4.
There are millions of homosexual people, all of whom have parents and family members with whom they share the need for mutual love and support. There are conflicting and inconsistent surveys on the incidence of homosexuality in the United States. In the past, a round number estimate of 10 percent was widely accepted based on Kinsey studies a generation ago. More recently, there have been surveys that indicate that a minimum of roughly 2 percent of the population live an active homosexual life with enough confidence and openness to admit it to a surveyor and another 5 percent or so admit to homosexual inclinations and/or occasional homosexual activity. We Are Family use a mid-range estimate that 6 percent of the population is gay.
5.
Homosexuality touches all of our lives. If 6 percent of the population is gay, 13 percent of families, one in seven, will experience homosexuality in a child and many more will experience it within the extended family comprised of immediate family members, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and first cousins. Whether we know it or not, all of us have a friend or family relation who is homosexual.
6.
Societal discrimination against homosexuals is lethal. Gay adolescents represent 30 percent of youth suicides. This astounding and sad statistic indicates that a gay adolescent is as much as eight times as likely to commit suicide as a straight child. Many more seek relief in unhealthy, consciousness numbing, self destructive behavior which often has the same result as suicide.
7.
As many as 25-45 percent of the street children in this county are gay children who have been separated from their families because of fear or rejection. If less than 10 percent of the population is gay and as much as 45 percent or more of street children come from this segment, what does this situation suggest about the degree of family disruption associated with homosexuality?
8.
The vast majority of gays fit the profile of most Americans who work their way through life trying to lead decent lives with a measure of comfort, dignity, shared human affection and security. The radical groups which are determined to achieve their ends by shocking the rest of the world out of its prejudice make up a small minority of the total homosexual community.
9.
The overwhelming message of the world's religions is unconditional love and acceptance, not of judgment. Those who claim that their religious writings "prove" that homosexuality is a sin ignore that love and the human element that led to fundamental inconsistencies within those scriptures and the development of knowledge since they were written.
10.
Those preaching the message of hate bear a full measure of moral responsibility for the consequences of their words. Religious and political leaders who preach condemnation of homosexuals encourage fears and prejudices and often goad their listeners into action, including hate crimes against gay people. |
