| Friday,
October 24th Sascha was tired of the dead-end talks he seemed to be having lately with his parents. Yesterday, at breakfast, his mother said she was not pleased with his going out every Wednesday to the gay youth group meetings. Now, at lunch, she brought up the topic again. "I'm old enough to decide for myself where I want to go," said Sascha defiantly. His mother objected to his spending all his free time with his new gay friends. Why couldn't she understand how important they were to him? Other than his sister, no one in the family really understood his situation. All Sascha wanted was to know people who thought and felt as he did. His parents, however, simply could not imagine that gay persons just liked to spend time together. "Everybody knows that gays think only about sex. How can they talk about everyday matters?" Sascha was boiling over. "That comment is so typical of the stereotypes you seem to have about us," Sascha said. "Sure there are gay guys that have only sex on their minds, but there are straight guys who think exactly the same way. Did you know that many gay men live in monogamous and faithful relationships for whole lifetimes, just like you and father?" Sascha's mother replied sharply, "How can you even compare two gay men to a married couple? Our married state was sanctified by God." Sascha tried to control his temper and his voice. "Yes, the Church of this same God is responsible for much of the discrimination gays face today. If the churches would stop calling the gay experience sinful and damned, we should be better accepted by society. Then we might have the same rights straight people have had all along." "What rights are you talking about?" his father asked. "Why are gays not allowed to adopt children?" Sascha asked. "Why do gay partnerships not have the same tax advantages as married couples? Why do authorities often ignore harassment and even violence perpetrated on gay men and women? Gay people have less protection under the law in some quarters. Is that equal justice?" More about
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