Sexual orientation
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Past and present civil rights battles.
Lesbian, gay, & bisexual (LGB) issues now.
All viewpoints covered.
In this website and just about everywhere else, "LGBT" refers to the
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender/Transsexual community.
The term "homosexual" in this section is used in its medical sense. It
refers to persons who have a homosexual orientation. That is, they
are
sexually attracted only to persons of the same sex. Unfortunately,
the
term is now being considered pejorative by some
in the LGBT
community.
Many years ago, we titled this section "homosexuality and bisexuality."
We are gradually converting the titles of essays in this section over
to "lesbian, gay and bisexual" topics. These are more neutral terms,
at least for now.
A quotation:R. Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary wrote in his book "Homosexuality and the Bible." 2005:
"Homosexuality is now the most controversial issue of debate in American culture — and it is likely to stay that way for a long time. Once famously described as “the love that dares not speak its name,” homosexuality is now openly discussed and debated throughout American society. 4
Webmaster's comment:
Dr. Mohler made this comment in 2005, one year after private, consensual same-gender sexual behavior was decriminalized across the U.S.
When this menu was most recently updated during 2018-MAR. Homosexuality remains a "controversial issue of debate." However, with the the ruling of the U.S. Supreme
Court in the case Obergefell v. Hodges which
legalizing gay marriage throughout the U.S. (except for American Samoa) it has diminished somewhat. A debate that is now rapidly rising in importance concerns equal rights for transgender individuals.
Notes: Until mid-2015, the most controversial topic related to the LGBT community was marriage equality -- allowing qualified same-sex couples to marry, limited only by the same age and genetic restrictions that are in place for opposite-sex couples. This is discussed in a separate section of this web site. On 2015-JUN-26, the U.S. Supreme Court made a major ruling in the case Obergefell v. Hodges. Same-sex couples have been able to obtain marriage licenses across almost the entire United States -- all 50 states, 4 of 5 territories and the District of Columbia. As of early-2017 the exceptions were:
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The territory of American Samoa where most of the population are regarded as American residents, not American citizens. Thus rulings by the High Court do not necessarily apply there.
- Some Native American jurisdictions where Native tribes are given jurisdiction over certain cultural matters.
A few county clerks may still be refusing to issue licenses, but no accounts have been published recently. Even if a couple is refused a marriage license by one clerk, they can usually travel to an adjacent county in their state to obtain one.
Almost immediately after the High Court's ruling, those conservative religious and political groups that had worked to prevent marriage equality for the LGBT community switched from fighting gay marriage to concentrate their efforts at:
Although marriage equality was a major social change, some same-sex couples have been married one day only to find themselves legally fired from their jobs on the next.
Pro-equality groups have shifted their efforts to expanding equality to these other areas by passing state laws prohibiting discrimination.
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  Topics covered in this really big section:
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Introduction: Key topics:
(We recommend reading some of these introductory essays first.)
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|  Positive changes in the acceptance of the LGBT community:
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Basic info about homosexuality and bisexuality: | Six common belief systems by religious folks about
same-sex behavior and homosexual orientation | | Brief quotations | | Meaning of terms
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Meanings attributed to the term "sexual orientation" |
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Beliefs about causes; is it changeable? abnormal? immoral? | |
Preventing homosexuality | |
Same-sex parenting, foster parenting, and adoption | | What percentage of the adult population are lesbian, gay, or bisexual? | |
Bisexuality; | | Public opinion polls; << A large section | |
Emails we have received; | | Suicide rates among gay and lesbian youth | | Is there a connection between sexual orientation and gender identity? | |
Other topics: dialog; statements of professional groups; terminology
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The impact of religion:
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Six common belief systems by religious folks about same-sex behavior
and orientation |
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The Bible and homosexuality -- the famous "clobber"
passages |
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Books covering a full range of beliefs by different faith groups |
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Beliefs and policies of various religious groups, theologians, clergy, and laity concerning GLBT
issues |
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Other essays on dialogue, change, conflicts, policies,
compromise, schism, teaching in schools, etc. -- even Ipad apps
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| |  Same-sex marriage (SSM), civil unions, etc
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SSM by U.S. state, in Canada, and other countries |
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Public opinion polls |
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Benefits of marriage |
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Assessing the will of God |
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1999 ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada |
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Presidential races and SSM |
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Political party platforms |
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etc.
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Challenges faced by gays and bisexuals:
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Employment insecurity ENDA laws |
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Public school harassment |
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Gay-Straight Alliances |
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Family of origin problems |
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Attacks on gay-positive churches |
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Accusations of child molestation |
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Who are the LGBT's?
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| | Homophobia directed against
homosexuals and bisexuals:
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Multiple meanings of the term "homophobia" |
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Causes, incidence, cost |
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Boy Scouts of America |
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"Dr. Laura" |
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Senator Santorum (R, PA) |
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Carl Palidino (R) running for governor in 2010 |
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Pro-equality businesses
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About ex-gays: reparative
& other therapies:
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Introduction |
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Statements by professional groups |
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Beliefs by the public |
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Results of studies
|
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Laws & regulations affecting gays
& bisexuals | | News in the media and from the Internet
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General news concerning LGBT developments from 1996 to the present time |
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Events indicating an increasing acceptance of homosexuality, etc.
by the public |
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Errors and lack of clarity among some media reports |
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The "Dr. Phil" TV program & sexual orientation |
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Homosexual milestones in the media |
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The National Day of Silence |
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Support from the National Association of the Deaf |
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Updating daily news feed. etc.
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| | Parenting a
gay/lesbian child; essays; sermons; personal stories; etc.
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What to do after your child says "I'm gay" |
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Dealing with a son's homosexuality |
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A gay person's letter to his church |
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A father disowns his son for being gay |
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Keynote sermon |
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Analysis of an anti-gay essay |
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Can a homosexual remain a Christian? |
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An open letter from Christians to LGBT people by John Shore |
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Challenging Emails we have received about homosexuality |
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A mother's open letter to President Obama, 2009-JUN
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Resources
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Books, and videos of interest to the LGB community |
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Gay and Bisexual-positive resources |
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Conservative Christian resources |
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References used:The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
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Barack Obama, "A Proclamation..." White House, 2009-JUN-01, at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/
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Peter Heck, "Homosexual family law," One News Now, 2010-FEB-08, at: http://www.onenewsnow.com/
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"Religism" is a proposed new English word to cover bigotry based on another person's religious belief.
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R. Albert Mohler, Jr., "Homosexuality and the Bible." 2005. This book can be downloaded for free at: http://www.sbts.edu/
Site navigation:
Copyright © 1996 to 20186 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance. The first date is not a typo. Ours was one of the original web sites on the Internet.
Last updated 2018-MAR-03
Author: B.A. Robinson
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The root causes and resolutions of three major religious/secular conflicts:
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