Divisions

A gay friend gave me a head's up on this:
Jamiel Terry (son of anti-abortion/anti-gay activist Randall Terry comes out.

And here is Randall Terry's response.

I haven't seen the actual print version of Out, which has the whole story by Jamiel Terry. But it's obvious that there is estrangement. I don't know these people...for all I know, Randall Terry's claims are true...but still it's sad to see a father turn publicly on a son. Nothing in the online version really seems betrayal to me...maybe the print version is more negative. But it's easy to see that beliefs about sexuality--not sexuality itself--can cause divisions. Even Jamiel Terry buys into some of the stereotypes of gays in the article.

Here are some other examples of divisions...
For father and son, gay marriage is the ultimate wedge issue

Quotes from many sides (I especially love Coretta Scott King's.)

In Jamaica, father encourages students to maul 'gay' son, police stoned

I've known too many gays who have been 'thrown away' by their parents when they do come out, or lived a life in secret that they loathed because they were afraid to be treated like so much garbage. One young man killed himself after one of those ministries who claim to 'change' homosexuals harassed him at work and home. People point to gays as being drug users, fickle, promiscuous. I've known some that are, and it's the saddest thing, that self-loathing. But, I've also known others that are indistinguishable from anyone else in behaviour. I think a large part of it isn't so much one's sexuality but rather how accepted/rejected you may be, especially in the most important arena, your family. Think I'm wrong? Check out Better to be dead than gay? A look at gay suicide. I particularly agree with the following quote by Kevin Jennings: 'If you teach a young person that their life has no value, they'll treat their life like their life has no value.'

People are more than a sexual orientation. They are sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, neighbours, friends. They deserve to be treated as human, as loved ones. And so do the people they love.