Gay Myths = Violence Against Gays

To date in my blogsperience, I've explored a variety of gay myths and have done my best to debunk them. My main purpose has been to highlight the fact that these myths are nothing more than ignorant perceptions about what it means to be gay, and ultimately demean all of us who identify as LGBT.

But it's more than that. Myths about gays cause fear... fear that we will exploit your children, threaten your sexuality, and ultimately corrode societal values. Obviously these fears are unfounded, but they exist. Think about it. Fear is the root of the controversy around gay marriage. Fear is the heart of the angst around gays in the military. And fear is the genesis of hate.

While you may not recognize it at its face value, hate against the LGBT community abounds. Sometimes it is couched in sarcasm or hidden in innuendo, but it is often even more blatant. Attend any gay pride parade or street fair in the gay district of any major municipality, and you will find religious protestors angrily condemning our kind and spewing vile and dire warnings. For people who profess to be followers of Jesus, their actions couldn't be further from the tenet of 'love thy neighbor'.

If it were only the taunts and jaunts of religious extremists, or the not-so-subtle jabs of the jock culture that fuels our society's 'man-laws', I could probably quietly and honorably live as a gay man with a heap of self-assurance and only a modicum of contempt. But I can't. You see, hate is more than taunting. Hate breeds violence. And that I cannot accept.

According to 2007 FBI hate crime statistics, violence against the LGBT community ranked third, only behind race and religion. Violence based on race was by far the highest percentage (52%), but religion and sexual orientation were nearly equal at 17.1% and 15.9% respectively. Keep in mind that several states still do not recognize sexual orientation as a basis for hate crimes. Even in states that do, it is widely speculated that these crimes are grossly under-reported. Hence, the numbers are probably under-stated.

So what to do? The fact is, statistical facts don't really tell the story. Every day, in every country and every city around the world, the LGBT community is victimized by violence. And it's not just a vague concept of 'attacks against the community'. These are real people who are subjected to real violence. The only way to appreciate the injustice that happens each and every day is to experience real-life situations.

See for yourself. Embedded in this blog is a video that highlights just a few examples of gays, lesbians, and trangenders who were killed simply because of their sexual identity. Watch the video. Experience it. Imagine that these people are your family... your loved ones. Nobody deserves to be subjected to these kinds of atrocities. And no one should stand on the sidelines to let it happen.

Myths cause fear... fear leads to hate... hate breeds violence. Stop the myths. End the violence.