Not now!... I'll be disowned :(

girlofmanyfaces, the last thing you said is what I believe, You and love who ever you please, but do not let sexual immorality come into the picture. When the argument is Sodam and Gamora and god made these people so God made gay and lesbian people so he should not have done that.

First God doesn't make mistakes

Second God did make homosexuality but he also says that it is not a sin to be homosexual it is only a sin to act on homosexual urges sexually.

The difference in animals and humans is that humans can choose to right or wrong.

If my sons came home and told me they were gay, I would not be the most thrilled parent ever, but they are my child and I would love them reguardless. If the individual they choose as a partner is male instead of female, I won't be overly excited, but I will always love my child and if that is what they choose then I'll love there partner as much as I love them. If you hurt your child by not excepting them for who they are that is terrible. If you do not accept there choice for a life long mate then in turn you are only hurting your child. I hope it never comes to that but I love my children and will do everything in my power to support them.

My H disagrees. If either of our boys bring home a male or are they are gay they are disowned and so is anyone who supports them. I told him for his sake then he better hope they do not do that because I love my children and will support them no matter what. I just know what the bible says and I feel like that is the source to go to. But on the other hand you love the sinner not the sin.

But it is discriminating to create a majority of people and allow them to act on their sexual urges and to create a minority of people and disallow them to act on those same sexual urges. Unfair, blatantly discriminating, and a faulty design. Usually, one of the main qualities believers attribute to deities and creators is fairness. We clearly have a big problem with fairness in this case. I think it is enough that people are born with different endowments of abilities, some into poverty and some into wealth, some into loving families and some into abusive families. To add unfair treatment for sexual orientation on top of that is extraordinary unfairness.

There is also the issue of victimhood. Any set of laws that is reasonably acceptable should clearly spell out the distinction between acts that hurt somebody and those that do not. In that vein, it should be clearly spelled out that rape is a crime and consensual homosexual acts are just that, consensual acts without hurting any victims. If a set of laws fails to distinguish between rape and consensual sex, it is seriously flawed.

I just meant "harder in life" strictly in the sense of fitting into society and having equal rights with others. I did not mean to say that your life will be happier for you if you were heterosexual.

I'm not sure where the bible says it's ok for anyone to act on their sexual urges...

And if God would intervene in the way you ask could that be done without removing someone's free will? Jesus was also a poor man who received no extra treatment and never asked for it even when his life was in danger. I don't pretend to understand life but I do not believe the point of life is to gain riches... And is the construct of wealth not created by man? Do you think it would be God's fault that you were not born as the 1%?

And if the living situation of every human was controlled could this be done without intervention that would undermine acts that were in no way violent or incorrect?

Because laws do far more than to prevent only violence so and so I do not understand that stance either. And although many of my own religion would disagree, I believe coincidences do happen.

It is written that by following the commandments one will gain access to heaven. If God were to intervene in every situation then how could it be possible to truly test any man? Would you speak anything but "truth" if the sword of Damocles hung over your head?

But again I am not interested in telling anyone that they are wrong and I would not like to break any rules on religious discussion. I do apologize if I have done either of those things.

That was the problem with my case. The detective didn't want to have to charge a 17 year old "child" with rape. So he said it was consensual. And it was NOT! It was very much rape. Nobody listens to me though. They just think I'm trying to stay out of trouble by not admitting to having sex... But it wasn't my choice. That's why I feel so much at fault for what happened. He forced himself on me and I couldn't stop him. So this is what I get...

This is not a good analogy. While 99% of people are not born into the 1% by wealth, they have a theoretical opportunity to attain it (Steve Jobs and the like, without checking his actual placement as per the moment of death but you get the point, American dream etc. etc.). Homosexuals are a substantial minority of people at such a severe disadvantage as to never be able to achieve normal sexual expression (normal to them, per their orientation) if they are not allowed to be with other homosexuals. They cannot attain anything. So if you try to use your analogy, it would be better to compare homosexuals with people who are wheel-chair-bound from birth. Those people can never attain health and mobility of able-bodied people. But we try to do something as a society to bridge the gap between the level of mobility of wheel-chair-bound and able-bodied people - we have ramps, we have accessible restrooms and other facilities, we have ADA in US, etc. - we try to bridge the gap to the extent possible. Well, if you think that being born a homosexual is some sort of an unfortunate anomaly allowed by the creator, fine, I have no problem with that, but then society should intervene and try to do the same vis-a-vis homosexuals as it does vis-a-vis the physically handicapped - give them equal rights to bridge the gap.

I really don't mean to argue. But I am very much in love with God.

It is write IN THE BIBLE that acts will NOT get you into heaven. Only asking Jesus into your heart will get you into heaven.

Nobody is perfect.and never will be. Everyone sins. You are suppose to try to avoid sin. But it is impossible to succeed. You will sin no matter what. Even evil thoughts are a sin.
God still loves you, regardless

Oh so he was underage and they tried to protect him? But you are more underage than him! Why would consent matter in your case?? Is there no statutory rape in your jurisdiction? You are too young to consent.

Dear this sounds more like politics than law to me... It is a serious issue we face in America today... You did nothing wrong. You stood up for what you believe in and that's what counts. You can't blame yourself for not being able to help yourself or others at times. It is a hard lesson to learn and I still have problems with it.

No offence taken at all. You are right.

from findlaw.com:

For example, in some states sexual relations with someone less than 12 or 14 years old constitutes a first degree felony, while sex with someone older but still below the age of consent, might be a misdemeanor or lower level felony. In other states, any act of statutory rape constitutes a felony, with serious and sometimes mandatory jail sentences resulting.

I wasn't comparing the 1% with homosexuals. I was only suggesting that people tend to end up where they are simply because of bad luck and the actions of themselves or others.

And I have said nothing negative of homosexuals themselves.

Anyway the whole detective situation seems odd to me.

GirlOfManyFaces, were you given a lawyer or not?

Agreed about bad luck. But we try to compensate for that. We have remedial education programs for the learning disabled etc. Shelters for the victims of domestic abuse. SSI for those who cannot work due to health issues (SSDI is insurance so you pay into it as you go, but SSI is pure aid). Etc. etc. If drawing the card of a minority orientation is bad luck, how would you compensate for it? How would you deliver a level playing field?

Well, it is a very simple problem with a very straightforward solution that does not cost any money, unlike remedial programs, SSI, and shelters. Just stop calling homosexuality bad names and accept it for what it is - an innocent variation of humanity. Interestingly enough, if you apply this solution, then the "bad luck" situation more or less evaporates into thin air. The whole problem disappears. No more need to compensate for anything.

And regarding actions: no, people do not choose sexual orientation so there is no action implicated in orientation. I have been well advised of the many benefits of the lesbian lifestyle but I just cannot force myself into something that seems so foreign and weird to me. The reverse is probably equally true. Sure, there are some flexible people in the middle who can vacillate between the poles of orientation as they go through their lives, but for the rest of us it is just a feature that we come with. And you cannot change it - you can dye your hair but not force-change orientation. So actions are irrelevant. What precedes actions is choice. In order to complete an action, you need to be able to choose it in the first place. You just cannot accomplish it with the orientation - there is no choice. Which brings us back to the issue of fairness - it is unfair to fault someone for having a harmless feature that he or she cannot disable or modify/alter.

In my state, 17 is an adult if certain laws were broken. Such as rape. So technically he should have been charged. But that let it slid "this time"

All I know is, he did something that wasn't aloud and didn't get punished. I was punished. Which I really don't understand....

That is totally, totally unfair to you. It is bad enough to suffer the rape and its consequences and now you are in addition made to suffer from unfair punishment.

No. They wouldn't let us charge him. And MY law person, who is supposed to be on my side, told me he didn't want to charge the 17 year old. So the law person (I'm not sure what to call him) LIED!!!! And told my mom that it wasn't rape. When it CLEARLY was! I still have nightmares of the two times it happened....

I have no idea what you two are talking about, nor do I understand how this pertains to either of my situations. I'm just confused.

He was not even supposed to tell your mom what it was or was not. He was supposed to protect your rights.

I never faulted anyone for being homosexual nor have I labeled it in any way. I simply stated that I disagree with it. I'm not telling anyone what to do.

Whatever the reason it isn't lawful and it's unfair to you. And unfortunately your parents would have to have gotten involved to be able to press charges. This entire situation is not your fault at all.