In other words, this is not just a matter of me appreciating LGBT people as people, or recognizing their accomplishments for the sake of their accomplishments. Third, and finally, I do not celebrate LGBT pride because there is an agenda attached to it. If you asked me to stand against their harassment and mistreatment, again I would say, “Count me in.”īut if you ask me to celebrate their transgender identity (and all the challenges that come with it), I would have to politely decline. If you asked me to stand with those who identify as transgender and offer them support and compassion and hope, I would say, “Count me in.” Why should I celebrate putting a child on hormone blockers? Why should I celebrate a 17-year-old girl having her breasts removed? Why should I celebrate a lifelong regimen of hormones? Why should I celebrate something that causes so many people so much pain, even after “transitioning?” If I’m convinced that, ideally, a child should have a mommy and a daddy (rather than two mommies or two daddies), why should I celebrate a family setting that willfully deprives that child of either their mother or father?ĭo we celebrate single parent pride? No, we say to those single parents, “It must be hard to raise your child on your own, but we’re standing with you to help.”Īnd why should I celebrate transgender identity? What is there to celebrate? If I personally know people whose same-sex attractions were the result of childhood sexual abuse and rape, why should I celebrate those attractions? If I’m convinced that homosexual practice is contrary to God’s design, why should I celebrate it? They are fellow human beings, and if they deserve honor or commendation, I’ll gladly give that to them. If the person happens to be a cancer survivor with an amazing story, I’ll celebrate them for that. If the person happens to a courageous firefighter, I’ll celebrate them for that. Or, to zero in on the letter B, why should I celebrate someone who is attracted to both males and females? Why should I put them in a special category (like Hispanic or Asian or Black)?
The very fact that we’ve gone from G (as in gay) to LG, to LGB, to LGBT, to LGBTQ, to LGBTQI to LGBTQIP (and beyond) indicates that these are hardly fixed categories. Put another way, why should there be a special month to celebrate people based on their sexual desires and romantic attractions? Or based on their gender identity perceptions? Why shouldn’t all of us celebrate gay (or, LGBT) pride?įor me, there are three major reasons, and none of them have anything to do with hatred or fear.įirst, I do not accept the categories of LGBT as fixed and definite categories, worthy of special recognition. There are people all across the LGBT spectrum who help the poor, who care for the oppressed, who love the loveless, who are outstanding bosses or employees or friends or neighbors. There are transgender men and women who are kind, gentle, caring souls. If I tell a woman who identifies as a man that I still believe she is a woman, that feels like hatred to her.įrom their perspective, I can understand how unchristian my position seems, how bigoted, how biased, how primitive.Īfter all, they would be quick to point out, there are gay parents who are more devoted to their kids than some straight parents.
A transphobe.Īfter all, no matter how Christian I claim to be, if I tell a gay couple I do not believe they are truly married in God’s sight, that feels like hatred to them.
If you ask my detractors, they would tell you that the reason I do not celebrate gay pride is that I’m a bigot. Supporters and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community take part in a gay pride parade organised by the Malta Gay Rights Movement in Valletta June 22, 2013.