Republicans Must Embrace The Gays
Studies in the US show that 1 in 10 citizens admit to being Gay. It is unclear how many Americans are Gay but won't admit it as they are still "in the closet". The number of Americans who believe that being Gay is a choice and no one is born Gay continues to drop while the number of Americans who believe people can be born Gay has steadily risen. The European polls indicate that the number of people who believe that you can be born Gay is substantially higher than in the US. Throughout history, Europeans have always been more tolerant of Gays than Americans.
As an elementary school child, it was clear to me and almost everyone else, that the music/art teacher was Gay. No one was scared of him and our parents did not think he would turn us Gay or molest young boys.
In the neighborhood where I grew up, a girl close to my age was very masculine as a small child and we all knew she was going to be a Lesbian.
In High School, there was a boy who was constantly ridiculed and bullied because he was Gay. Everyone knew he was Gay.
In some of my jobs, starting when I was 15, as a waitress, a hairdresser and a real estate agent, I came and continue to come in contact with many Gay men. I learned that when you know someone personally, they cease to be Gay, Black, Handicapped, etc. and claim many friends who are "different".
Lately, I have been taking a poll and was shocked how many Conservatives believe that being Gay is a lifestyle choice and people cannot be born Gay. Who would choose to be bullied, ostracized and discriminated against if being straight was an option for them?
The President recently made a statement that Gay is not a choice. I suspect that he was pandering to what the Democrats see a viable voting block.
Gays, who otherwise would be Republicans, often vote Democratic on a single issue, that the Republicans think being Gay is a choice and that Gay people are sinners, God hates Gays and Gay people will all go to hell.
Conservative Christians are the loudest voices of the Republican Party but they are not the only voices. Many Republican voters are at odds with the Party over Gay issues. Republican politicians may hide their sexual orientation an repeat the party retoric about Gays in order to be accepted in the Party.
With the Gay vote goes the youth as young voters are much more tolerant of Gays and others who are different from them. It is time the Republicans who do not follow the Party line on Gays, stood up and said so.
The Democrats have the Republicans beat when it comes to social issues so the Republicans need to ignore social issues that divide the voters and focus on the things most Americans are concerned about; the National Debt, jobs, the economy, taxes, health care education, corruption, banks and the Government intrusion into businesses.
