Thank you for classifying my response. Obviously, you don’t have a close relationship with anyone who is gay. I was not commenting on sexual behavior. I was commenting on whether one should ostracize a family member that is gay.
Please try to keep up with the conversation.
My dear freeposter, having been educated from childhood in the arts and having worked in the arts for my entire adult life, you could not be more wrong. From ballet instructors to art teachers to co-workers and social friends, I have known hundreds of gays, and dozens as close personal friends. Most of them are dead now because, like most gay people, they died young, or younger than their straight peers, and have not lived to be as old as I am.
I still mourn one friend in particular who worked with me for 18 years -- we were as close as siblings and I will miss him until I die, when I hope to be reunited with him, regardless of his gay behavior on earth. We talked about his fears of having disappointed God on his deathbed from AIDS, where I was the only friend still at his side; and no, I do not believe God would have rejected him from heaven, given all that I knew about him.
I'm now at the stage where I don't meet many new people nor invite new friendships outside of my large family, but I deal with gays all the time at my little retirement job. They love me because I cater to their particular needs that our business can provide; and I do so without making them feel judged or uncomfortable.
But none of that makes me believe that homosexual behavior is a good thing for the individual or for society; or that parents should allow their children to be indoctrinated that homosexual behaviors are immutable and acceptable choices.
If anyone has had the chance to view this situation objectively, it is I. It has been knowing gays well and hearing their stories of childhood and growing up that have convinced me it is a disorder, and not just another harmless option.