I heard on the news recently that Florida is the ONLY state that forbids homosexual adoptions. I was shocked! The news also said that Florida's law is being challenged. It's remarkable how much progress the homosexual community has made within a relatively short period of time.

Since the passing of Proposition 8 in California, we have been confronted with outrageous behavior by many homosexual activists in California, as well as other states. Proposition 8 was a California State ballot proposition that amended the state Constitution to restrict the definition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman. The anger of the homosexual community over the passing of Prop 8 has often been directed toward Christians and Mormons; however, even within the Christian community, there are various opinions as to how Christians should react to the homosexual community's relentless drive towards "normalization".

Among Christians who believe that a marriage should only be between a man and a woman, some believe that we should be tolerant toward the practice of civil unions and providing rights to people in homosexual relationships that would typically be found in a marriage. I believe that there should be a vigorous discussion within the Christian community as to the extent to which we should be "tolerant" of homosexual behavior. It is one thing to love the sinner, but quite another thing to be tolerant of the sin or to encourage sinful behavior.

When I was a boy, homosexuality was considered to be either a mental illness or a sin. Back then, homosexuals were still called homosexuals, and most of them were still "in the closet". They mostly kept a low profile, but they were still active. There were numerous times, as I was growing up, when I was approached by homosexuals. It was not a common occurrence, but it happened often enough that I began to wonder if there was something in particular about me that brought me to the attention of homosexuals.

Now, as an adult, I don't think that there was anything different about me or my behavior. I now think that it was probably a habitual pattern for homosexuals to be prowling around looking for someone who might be receptive to their advances. I definitely was not comfortable with such advances, and avoided such people like the plague, once I realized what they wanted.

I mention these early experiences to counter suggestions I have seen, by members of the homosexual community, that children are at least as safe around homosexuals as they are around normal ("straight") people. They like to point to examples of abusive behavior by normal people as reasons why children are not necessarily safe, even when in a normal environment.

In 1973, I remember hearing that the psychiatry had decided to no longer classify homosexuality as a mental illness. I don't know how or why they reached that decision, but I suspect that it resulted from gradual infiltration into their ranks by members of the homosexual community. The homosexual community has used that technique very effectively over the years to expand their influence.

Homosexuals started coming out of the closet, and going public with their abnormal behavior. They started calling themselves "gay", even though the consequences of homosexual behavior have historically been nothing to be gay about. Since then, they have mounted a relentless campaign to "mainstream" and normalize homosexual behavior, with the apparent goal that their behavior will not be considered abnormal by society as a whole.

In recent years, an increasingly activist homosexual community has been aggressively pursuing the right to legally marry members of their own sex. Even though the more conservative Christian members of society have been mostly successful in their efforts to resist these attempts to redefine marriage, the younger generation seems to be moving in the direction of a more "tolerant" attitude toward marriages between homosexuals. The approach of gradual persuasion continues to be effective.

There is a dark side to the goal of legalizing marriage between homosexuals that is not getting much public discussion.. One primary motivation for marriage within the homosexual community may be that it enables them to more easily adopt or become foster parents of children. These helpless children will then be subject to continual indoctrination into abnormal behavior.

Historically, homosexual behavior has been considered to be, if not mental illness, then certainly sinful behavior; however in recent years, the homosexual community has been trying to cast themselves in a different light. They are now claiming that a homosexual is "born that way". It is very important to their children-related goals to persuade the general public of this concept; because they hope to counter society's fears that homosexuals might influence their children to become homosexuals.

In "The Pink Swastika", a book that documents the extensive influence of homosexuality on Hitler's Nazism and the Jewish Holocaust, the following quote addresses the claim that homosexuals are "born that way":

In a letter to the editor of the Toronto, Ontario, Globe and Mail newspaper, February 26, 1992, Dr. Joseph Bergen Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, writes, "in my 20 years of psychiatry I have never come across anyone with innate homosexuality. That notion has been a long proclaimed gay-activist political position, intended to promote the acceptance of homosexuality as a healthy, fully equal alternative expression of human sexuality. It has zero scientific foundation, though its promoters latch on to even the flimsiest shreds of atrocious research in their attempts to justify the notion."

Agencies responsible for placing homeless children with adoptive or foster parents must certainly have guidelines that would become very challenged by prospective homosexual parents. For example, it is unlikely that a single man could adopt or foster parent a young girl due to the risk of sexual abuse. For the same reason, it does not seem reasonable that homosexual men should be able to adopt or foster parent a young boy. The same reasoning applies to homosexual women who might want to adopt or foster parent a girl. It is a matter of common sense that a young child is more likely to find the safest haven from sexual abuse with a parent of their same sexual orientation (e.g., a girl with her heterosexual mother).

There is no legitimate reason for Christians to be tolerant towards the homosexual rights movement. While we must certainly try to love the sinner, we must reject and discourage the sin in every way possible. There is no more reason to condone homosexual behavior than there is to condone adultery, polygamy, or pedophilia; yet that is exactly what is happening as the homosexual community relentlessly tries to influence public thinking. In the same way that the Christian community champions the cause of unborn children, we should be equally vigilant in protecting helpless young children who no longer have responsible parents available to protect them. The Christian community must start pushing back more forcefully, or else suffer great harm to not only the institution of marriage, but also to our children and families.