Being gay isn't the problem. Hate is.

We are all surrounded by negativity in one way or another every single day. But when we are young and still trying to find ourselves, it can take a heavy toll on our self-confidence and health. This is particularly true for those who are GBLT, who may experience harassment on a daily basis.

It's important to understand that no matter your age, race, sex, or religion we all contribute to the world. Now we can either do this negatively or positively. Those that are suffering with insecurities need to be assured that it's okay to be themselves. And those who are well confident with being gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgender should be acknowledged for being confident enough to be themselves no matter what negativity may bring to them.

Every day we are bombarded by ideas of what we should or shouldn't be. It's obvious to see that things that are not understood are either loved or hated. Not everyone understands the homosexual lifestyle so therefore it creates positive or negative responses, usually negative though. To stop this we need to learn about things we don't understand, like the saying goes, "knowledge is power."

If we find ourselves in a homophobic situation, we need to ask ourselves why sexuality is so important anyway? It's not. Same with race, gender, and age. It's not important. Instead of finding negativity in others, look at yourself. You're not perfect, so why expect others to be? Even if you still don't think the homosexual lifestyle is right, it's okay. We all have different opinions. But understanding that sharing some opinions hurt others. Being gay isn't the problem, those reproducing hate are.

Now for some statistics. Today's Gay Youth: The Ugly, Frightening Statistics state that

• Over 30 percent of all reported teen suicides each year are committed by gay and lesbian youth.
• In a study of 194 gay and lesbian youth, 25 percent were verbally abused by parents, and nearly 10 percent dealt with threatened or actual violence.
• Approximately 40 percent of homeless youth are identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual.
• Approximately 30 percent of both the lesbian and gay male populations have problems with alcohol.
• Approximately 28 percent of gay and lesbian youth drop out of high school because of discomfort (due to verbal and physical abuse) in the school environment.
• Gay students hear anti-gay slurs as often as 26 times each day; faculty intervention occurs in only about 3 percent of those cases.
• Over 50 percent of national youth servicing organizations report that they do not have services or resources in place to educate youth on sexual orientation or to support gay and lesbian youth.
• In a study of 5 metropolitan areas (Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York City, and San Francisco), there were 1,833 [reported] incidents of anti-gay and anti-lesbian crimes, which was a 31 percent increase over the previous year.

Statistics provided from Today's Gay Youth: The Ugly, Frightening Statistics

For more information about how to stop the hate, visit:
LBCC's Gay-Straight Alliance Club
GLBT National Help Center
Free To Be Me