‘Gay marriage’ and homosexuality some medical comments

1. Background

• According to Statistics Canada, 1.3% of men and 0.7% of women considered themselves to be homosexual. (http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/040615/d040615b.htm)
• Recent studies in many different countries show that the prevalence of homosexuality is less than 3% of the population:
• In a US study, the prevalence of homosexuality was estimated to be 2.1% of men and 1.5% of women. (Gilman SE. Am J Public Health. 2001; 91: 933-9.)
• Another US study estimated the prevalence of the adult lesbian population to be 1.87%(Aaron DJ et al. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2003; 57 :207-9.)
• In a recent British survey, 2.8% of men were classified as homosexuals (Mercer CH et al. AIDS. 2004; 18: 1453-8).
• In a recent Dutch study 2.8% of men and 1.4% women had had same-sex partners. (Sandfort TG et al. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001; 58 :85-91.)
• In a New Zealand study, 2.8% of young adults wereclassified as homosexual or bisexual. (Fergusson DM et al. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1999; 56 : 876-80)
• In 2001, there were just over 8.3 million families in Canada, of which nearly 6 million (70%) were married couples and 1.1 million common-law couples. The 2001 Census was the first to provide data on same-sex partnerships. A total of 34,200 couples (or 0.5% of all couples) identified themselves as same-sex common-law couples.(http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/021022/ d021022a.htm)

• Health Risk of the Homosexual Lifestyle

The media portrays the homosexual lifestyle and relationships as happy, healthy and stable. However, the homosexual lifestyle is associated with a large number of very serious physical and emotional health consequences. Many ‘committed’ homosexual relationships only last a few years.

This raises doubts as to whether children raised in same-sex households are being raised in aprotective environment.

A. There are very high rates of sexual promiscuity among the homosexual population with short duration of even ‘committed’ relationships.

• A study of homosexual men shows that more than 75% of homosexual men admitted to having sex with more than 100 different males in their lifetime: approximately 15% claimed to have had 100-249 sex partners, 17% claimed 250-499, 15% claimed 500-999 and 28% claimed more than 1,000 lifetime sexual partners.
• Promiscuity among lesbian women is less extreme, but is still higher than among heterosexual women. Many ‘lesbian’ women also have sex with men, and are more than 4 times as likely to have had more than 50 lifetime male partners than heterosexual women.
• Far higher rates of promiscuity are observed even within ‘committed’ gay relationships than in heterosexual marriage: In Holland, male homosexual relationships last, on average, 1.5 years, and gay men have an average of eight partners a year outside of their supposedly “committed” relationships.
• Gay men have sex with someone other than their primary partner in 66% of relationships within the first year, rising to 90% of relationships after five years.
• In an online survey among nearly 8,000 homosexuals, 71% of same-sex relationships lasted less than eight years. Only 9% of all same-sex relationships lasted longer than 16 years. (2003-2004 Gay & Lesbian Consumer Online Census; http://www.glcensus.org)
• The high rates of promiscuity are not surprising: Gay authors admit that ‘gay liberation was founded … on a sexualbrotherhood of promiscuity.’(Rotello G. Sexual Ecology. New York 1998)

B. Among homosexuals, highly risky sexual practices such as anal sex are very common.

• The majority of homosexual men (60%) engage in anal sex, frequently without condom and even, if they know that they are HIV positive. Because of this, a large number of diseases are associated with anal intercourse, many of which are rare or even unknown in the heterosexual population such as: anal cancer, Chlamydia trachomatis, Cryptosporidium, Giardia lamblia, Herpes simplex virus, HIV, Human papilloma virus, Isospora belli, Microsporidia, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis, Hepatitis B and C andothers. (http://www.netdoctor.co.uk http://www.gayhealthchannel.com)
• Young homosexual men aged 15-22, who ever had anal sex had a fivefold increased risk of contracting HIV than those who never engaged in anal sex.
• The term ‘barebacking’ refers to intentional unsafe anal sex. In a study of HIV-positive gay men, the majority of participants(84%) reported engaging in barebacking in the past three months, and 43% of the men reported recent bareback sex with partners who most likely were not infected with HIV, therefore putting another man at risk of contracting HIV.
• While many homosexuals are aware of HIV risk, a large number are unaware of the increased risk of contracting non-HIV TDs, many of which have serious complications or may not be curable.
• Condoms, even when used 100% of the time, fail to give adequate levels of protection against many non-HIV STDs such as Syphilis, Gonorrhoea, Chlamydia, Herpes, Genital Warts and others. The only safe sex is, apart from abstinence, mutual monogamy with an uninfected partner.(Sex, Condoms, and STDs: What We Now Know. Medical Institute for Sexual Health. 2002).

C. Homosexuals have very high rates of sexually transmitted infections such as HIV which pose amajor burden to the health service

• Over 70% of all AIDS diagnoses in Canada in adults over the age of 15 up to June 2004 were in homosexual men (13,019 out of 19,238). 60% of all positive HIV tests are found in homosexual men. This contrasts with just over 15% of all positive HIV tests which are due to heterosexual contact.
• The recently observed dramatic increases in syphilis in many large cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, but also in London and Manchester, UK are in the majority observed in homosexual men.

D. There are increased rates of mental ill health among the homosexual population compared to thegeneral population.

• A New Zealand study found at the age of 21, homosexuals/bisexuals were at fourfold increased risks of major depression and conduct disorder, fivefold increased risk of nicotine dependence, twofold increased risk of other substance misuse or addiction and six times more likely to have attempted suicide.
• In a recent US study of the mental health of homosexuals, it was found that gay/bisexual men had a more than 3-fold increased risk of major depression and a five-fold increased risk of panic disorder. Homosexuals are wmore than three times as likely than the general population to require treatment in a mental health setting.
• High rates of mental illness among homosexuals are found even in gay tolerant Netherlands: high levels of psychiatric illness, including major depression, bipolar disorder (‘manic depression’), agoraphobia, obsessive compulsive disorder and drug addiction are found.
• Furthermore, if ‘homophobia’ and prejudices were the cause of the high rates of psychiatric disorders and suicide attempts among homosexuals, one would similarly expect to find higher rates of suicide attempts and suicide among ethnic minoritiesexposed to racism. However, this is not usually the case.
• In a Vancouver study, life expectancy at age 20 years for gay and bisexual men is 8 to 20 years less than for all men.

• Homosexuality and Pedophilia

• Gay Marriage Medical Effects On Children

• Biological evidence regarding gender development

• Benefits of Traditional Marriage

• Adverse effects on children of family breakdown

• Further reading Health risks of gay sex

http://www.lifesitenews.com/features/marriage_defence/SSM_MD_evidence.pdf