Should gay public figures stay in the closet?

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by Kathrine Mills

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For the most part today everyone focuses one side of the homosexual issue. What side of spectrum does the person in question fall on, heterosexual or homosexual. However, if someone were to say that they didn't want someone to reveal such personal information about their lives, they are immediately deemed a homo-phobe. As one mother and youth pastor put it, "Sexuality has taken way to big of a role in this generation today. Instead of respecting people's privacy and everyone leaving their sexuality for their own home time, we've decided to allow complete strangers to train our kids in correct and incorrect sexuality; all to the destruction of our society." While, from the Christian view point, Homosexuality is a sin, the person who is committing the sin is just like any other person who is doing something sinful. That however, isn't the drive for every person who calls themselves a Christian and doesn't want people publicly "coming out." To many parents sexuality is a topic they would rather discuss with their kids in the safety and privacy of their own homes than have schools or strangers teach or even talk about. Doing anything else would encourage confusion in the child and provoke questions many parents won't be ready or even educated enough to answer.

In the example of the James Dale vs. the Boy Scouts, he was dismissed for too openly sharing his sexual orientation in a public setting; therefore he was not a suitable example for the kids anymore. We should consider the fact that the Boy Scouts are trying to instill a specific model of excellence that is based on a Christian would view provided by the sacred Biblical text.
"For 12 years they said, 'You're perfect, just what we want, get involved, its family, then they found one small thing about who you are and kicked me out."- James Dale

As a country we do not force Hindu's to eat cow, Muslims from wearing their jilbabs, or force Jews to eat non-Kosur food. In the same way we should not force Christians to allow Gay behaviors be accepted against the Biblical teachings that they uphold in "thought and in deed."

"An avowed homosexual is not a role model for Scouts and would be inconsistent with the values we wish to instill. The policy bars homosexuals who are open about their homosexuality, and the BSA does not seek to investigate people's sexual orientation." -Gregg Shields, national spokesman for the BSA in Texas

As controversial as that is, the Girl Scouts, have adopted a more liberal program which allows groups to be formed based on religious view point such as the Muslim and Jewish groups in which they refer to Allah God in their spiritual lessons and God without the Jesus Christ emphasis for Jewish children so that they can learn their cultures' religion. Both have the right to choose whatever ground they feel appropriate because they are private organizations which function, based on the several Supreme Court rulings, do not fall under the anti-discrimination laws on the books in any given state. Many Christians have abandoned the Girl Scouts when they find out such information, but most aren't aware of the practice so they still support the group.

Americans have a lot of rights and sometimes that right infringe on the rights of others, usually resulting in some kind of punishment or revision of the law to meet both sides in some sort of compromise. In this case, a person feeling they have the right to go telling anyone and everyone over a loud speaker on the stage to any audience who either knows and chooses to listen or who is unaware and unwittingly set themselves up to have to listen, and profess their deep sexual desires. Many adults find this inappropriate conduct, especially in front of children. Sexuality is a discussion that is very private, which is why many Christian parents choose to not allow their children to undergo the sex education classes offered by the local school districts. Many prohibit their children's attendance solely on the fact that it is taught by the Family Planning Association, the largest provider of Abortions in the United States. They teach many mixed messages to the kids telling them sex is okay if done safely but then saying that abstinence is the only way to guarantee disease free. There is no real morality being taught, something that is a huge part of sexual development. Figuring out what is morally wrong is a huge turning point in adolescent. Without it we would be seeing teenage boys running around raping girls, sex happening between teachers and students, as well as an excessive amount of sexual contact between teens. In some ways the openness about sexuality in schools and community has brought more of numbness to the idea of sex and it becomes simply the satisfying of a selfish need and not the act of love and commitment that groups like the Boy Scouts support based on God and the Bible.

Overall, while some people may feel offended they are to blame in some ways for being so open in the community about their sexuality. While many Christians support rights to homosexuals, many also feel their right to having a solely Christian social group and mentor group as being a right of theirs, which no one should be able to force them to include people groups which offend their beliefs. To do so would corrupt their entire doctrine of teaching, beliefs, and moral standards. If that isn't really solid then what else in their rules is okay to break? If it is okay for homosexuals to tell Christians they must break their moral code to include them, then why can't a Christian tell homosexuals they must change their moral standards to let them be able to practice their beliefs? It has to be a two way road because we can't give one group special privileges and cut the rights of others.

Finally, it is clear to say that sexuality has become fairly open and has lost it's intimacy for many people, especially those who feel that it is a parents constitutional right to teach their children about sexuality as they see fit, not for others to dictate what they learn based on their desire to share their sexuality on the public forum. When in groups where one is mentoring children, one needs to be sure they do actually model the values held by the organization they decide to join. If not, why not start you own, which was actually what happened in the Gays vs. Boy Scouts war. However, they continue to protest the boys who are doing well as if they are to blame for wanting to participate in the Boy Scouts. If we were all to keep our sexuality at home in the privacy of your bedroom, where it belongs, and we wouldn't see these types of problems so frequently. With the increase of the Gay Rights movement however, we most likely won't be seeing that happen anytime soon.

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