Parents, Families, and Friends of
Support Education AdvocacyQuestions and Answers
For Those Whose Loved Ones Just Came Out
Click on the questions, and see the answers below:
What is happening to me?... Why tell me? Is it my fault? Who recruited my child? What about the law? Should we tell? Is there objective information? Is it a sin? Is it unnatural? Am I in denial? How does my child feel? Is there a cure? Why doesn't my child "act gay"? Will my child have a lonely life? No more grandchildren? Who can I talk to? What about AIDS? Any books I can read?
What About the Law?
The laws of just under half of the states in the United States criminalize
gay sex to some extent. No laws prohibit the mere status of
homosexuality (as is the case in some countries). About half of all
other countries criminalize gay sex. Even though the criminalization
varies from non-existent all the way to felony, these laws are rarely
enforced.
That doesn't mean they are benign. They are often used as an
excuse to discriminate. Lesbians and particularly gay men are often
told things like, "We don't rent property to convicted felons!" Such
a declaration can be rather hurting to a young couple looking for an
apartment. The same excuse is used to deny employment, service in
restaurants, rooms in motels, etc. So these laws are used for evil purposes,
even if they aren't enforced. This is why the bigots stubbornly oppose the
repeal of these laws, even though they know they aren't being used to put
gay people in jail.
As parents, we know better than anyone that our children are fundamentally
the good people we raised them to be. They do not deserve
such treatment. Many parents see as their responsibility to their children to work for the repeal of such laws, and see to it that this kind of discrimination is ended.
