LGBT rights persist as a controversial topic politically and culturally, but I wonder if it is really a moral or religious argument at all...   It seems to me that the anti-LGBT stance is one born out of disgust, an evolutionary survival mechanism akin to fear and anxiety, the purpose of which is to protect the individual or community from accidental poisoning, spread of disease, etc. Visit the following links for more on this.

• NIH: Why Disgust Matters 
• Psychology Today: Emotions, Survival, and Disconnection

I can certainly understand the public health risks associated with promiscuity (spread of STDs, including AIDS), which are preventable with safe sex practices, but what public health risk does a monogamous homosexual couple pose that a monogamous heterosexual couple does not?

Our most primal emotions have been codified into a system of morals upon which legal frameworks and religious doctrine have been constructed.  This moral system, conceived at a time when much of our understanding of the world was informed by superstition more so than by science, seems out of sync with our current understanding of science and the physical world in which we live. With LGBT youth representing such a disproportionate fraction of the homeless youth population (20 - 40% nationwide), perhaps it is time for a reexamination of our moral code.

I came across this article in a Reader's Digest magazine the other day.  We may be becoming a more tolerant society, but, if this article is any indication, we still have some progress to make.  Tragically, I fear that LGBT youths are going to continue to constitute a disproportionate fraction the homeless youth population for some time to come.

Alex Cooper documented her experience in the the book "Saving Alex".  The following is from the Saving Alex page on amazon.com

When Alex Cooper was fifteen years old, life was pretty ordinary in her sleepy suburban town and nice Mormon family. At church and at home, Alex was taught that God had a plan for everyone. But something was gnawing at her that made her feel different. These feelings exploded when she met Yvette, a girl who made Alex feel alive in a new way, and with whom Alex would quickly fall in love.

Alex knew she was holding a secret that could shatter her family, her church community, and her life. Yet when this secret couldn’t be hidden any longer, she told her parents that she was gay, and the nightmare began. She was driven from her home in Southern California to Utah, where, against her will, her parents handed her over to fellow Mormons who promised to save Alex from her homosexuality.

For eight harrowing months, Alex was held captive in an unlicensed “residential treatment program” modeled on the many “therapeutic” boot camps scattered across Utah. Alex was physically and verbally abused, and many days she was forced to stand facing a wall wearing a heavy backpack full of rocks. Her captors used faith to punish and terrorize her. With the help of a dedicated legal team in Salt Lake City, Alex eventually escaped and made legal history in Utah by winning the right to live under the law’s protection as an openly gay teenager.

Alex is not alone; the headlines continue to splash stories about gay conversion therapy and rehabilitation centers that promise to “save” teenagers from their sexuality. Saving Alex is a courageous memoir that tells Alex’s story in the hopes that it will bring awareness and justice to this important issue. A bold, inspiring story of one girl’s fight for freedom, acceptance, and truth.