On January 16th 2013, the Watertown Daily Times published an article that I wrote explaining how LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people should have equal rights and not be discriminated against.
Well Mr. Britts from Watertown WI. had the local paper publish a response to my article in the Daily Times.
Here is my response to him:
I would like to thank Simon Britts for bringing up some points I missed when I wrote an article in this column earlier this month explaining how LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people should not be discriminated against under the law or society.
If you've ever had the chance to fall in love with someone, you know just how amazing it truly is, and all relationships between two consenting adults, whether same-sex or opposite-sex couples should be respected and legally recognized. But Mr. Britts has brought up the concern that gay marriage will lead to the societal approval of pedophilia and bestiality. If we take a look at the nine states that allow same-sex marriage, this accusation simply isn't true.
He then quotes the bible saying that man sleeping with another man is wrong, although if we take a look at the history of the bible, homosexuality was not even mentioned anywhere in the bible until 1946, which begs the question, does God really prohibit homosexuality? In fact, when asked about LGBT rights, The Rev. Oscar Rozo from St. Paul's Church in Watertown, Wisconsin said “I would state by quoting Mark 12:31 “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We welcome LGBT groups to our church, to be members and participants of our community.”
Next, Mr. Britts moves the topic of his article to pathology, in which he explains the mortality rate of the swine cholera disease. If he was attempting to link that to same-sex marriage, it's my opinion that he failed in accomplishing that task.
A study noted in Mr. Britts article indicates that “67 percent of people believe homosexuality is a choice.” That may be true if the people surveyed were part of an anti-gay Christian organization, but the fact is, a majority of Americans according to a 2012 Nationwide USA Today poll support homosexuality and believe it is not a choice. He then goes on to say that the 23 percent of people in his study that believe homosexuality is not a choice, are homosexuals themselves. According to the American Psychiatric Association, the American Pediatric Association, and the U.S. Department of Human Services, only about 10 percent of the population is gay, with 7 percent identifying as males and 3 percent females. Those professional organizations also go on to site that homosexuality is likely not a choice, but that current research shows that homosexuality is caused by a combination of hormones that the mother's body administers to the person prior to birth and epigentetics.
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