guy sajer wrote:I don't disagree. My point is that the hypothesis that homosexual behavior/lifestyle has specific health implications (and perhaps negative) ought not be dismissed out of hand as evidence of biggotry. The one article I cited suggests that there MAY in fact be some health implications of lesbianism. We ought not let ideology or political correctness prohibit us from considering this possibility. It is an empirical, not an ideological question.
Yeap -ok. Fair enough. I was just checkin' really... :)
I think we're pretty much on the same page. (Or close to it).
asbestosman wrote:I'm not sure if it's being purposely ignored or if people just aren't aware of it. I myself wonder what improvements you're talking about. It's not that I doubt that any improvements could be made--I might easily expect a decrease in suicidal tendancies amoung that group--but rather that I hadn't really heard of any from either side.
It's certainly been ignored at least once in my time at MAD.
Here's one clear example of the principle that came up, from looking at this study:
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=IS04C02
Note - as usual - this study was posted by an anti-homosexual poster, and yet provided the evidence on this point:
For my rebuttal to the study overall (I have no reason to doubt the literal data referenced in the report, but the interpetation of the data was ludicrous throughout), look here:
http://www.mormonapologetics.org/index. ... 1208111037
But on the specific point of clear, emperical 'improvement', scroll down through the 'report' to the section 'Commitment" in Male Homosexual Couples'.
These two monogomy figures are referenced for 'committed' male homosexual relationships:
U.S.: 4.5%
Canada: 25%
...so why is the Canadian figure more than 5 times higher than the U.S. figure?
...how about the fact that Canada - in vast contrast to the USA - had already legalized same-sex marriage across 8 of the ten provinces by 2003, and had legalized it across the entire country by 2005!
Its as if the possibility of marriage within a community encourages stability in relationships!
Who'd have thunk it...?!
The evidence in this report shows that legalizing same-sex marriages encourages fidelity within the homosexual community in the same way that it always has within the hetrosexual communities of the world.
Of course there is a discrepancy between the 25% Canadian figure, and the 75.5% figure for U.S. married males.
But of course, there would be numerous issues with the comparison...
1. Kind is not being compared with kind! 'Married' on one side, 'committed relationship' on the other.
2. Overall comparisons of marriage between the US and Canada are not made. (The relavent 'Canadian' figure would have been required).
3. No attempt to determine the level of homosexual intolerance in Canada is made.
4. Marriage has only been made avaliable nationwide in Canada in the last couple of years. The study is at least a year old. (In fact, the latest study reference I can see in it is from 2004). It is inherently reasonable to expect such societal changes to take time in fully maturing...
As far as suicide rates, have you seen a study that actually compares suicide rates between countries that take active non-discriminatory stances, and no such stance? The only ones I've ever seen compare hetrosexual and homosexual, whilst - conviniently - making no effort to establish that no anti-homosexual attitude is present within the population...