Church Group: Telling bullied kids ‘gay is okay’ is the same as saying ‘overeating is okay’
A new pamphlet published by a church group in the US state of Ohio, gives “guidelines” on how to deal with questions relating to sexuality and homophobic bullying in schools, including comparing homosexuality to overeating.
Linda Harvey of Mission: America, a religious group who are involved in opposing LGBT rights, particularly to do with families and young people, published the pamphlet which compares being gay to overeating, and says it is not good to say being gay is “okay” to a receipient of homophobic bullying, reported ABC News. It reads:
“It’s not right to tell someone that being homosexual is okay. The person may be feeling sad because of being bullied, but never try to make him or [sic] feel better by saying “gay” is okay.
“Kids who are overweight are sometimes bullied, too. And we might want to make that person feel better. But it would be a mistake to say that overeating is a good thing, right?”
Ms Harvey’s advice also suggests that being gay is a choice, and that gay children are not bullied any more than straight ones. The pamphlet is available to download for distribution amongst families and church groups.
“So if you hear that everyone thinks being “gay” is okay, don’t believe it—even if that person is a grown-up, or even if he leads a church. There are many, many people who still follow God’s teachings, still believe their common sense, and
believe that romance, dating and marriage are for a boy and girl, a man and woman.”
She denied that she was condoning bullying when she wrote the pamphlet, and said:
“You can both strongly object to bullying or harassment or cruelty of any kind and also object homosexuality — the vast majority of the country holds both opinions simultaneously.”
Ms Harvey finished by saying that she does not want LGBT youths to be bullied, and that she hopes her leaflet will help them:
“To me withholding the information that they don’t have to go into this lifestyle is false propaganda. It’s not settled science and it’s not settled morality. Anyone who says differently is inventing new interpretations of Christian doctrine.”
Mission: America is considered a hate group by many LGBT rights activists, and GLAAD president, Herndon Graddicl said:
“Encouraging young people to reject or speak out against a peer because of something they can’t change is bullying at its worst. Thankfully, millions of Americans including teachers, athletes, and faith leaders disagree with anti-gay activists like Lisa Harvey and are giving young people the support they so critically need by reminding them that it’s okay to be who you are,”
Right Wing Watch uploaded an audio recording last year, which features Linda Harvey denying the existence of LGBT people. It says: “There is no proof that there’s ever anything like a gay, lesbian or bisexual or transgendered child, or teen or human.”
