How to Behave Around Gay People if You Don't Accept Them

1. 1
   Focus on the person, not their sexuality. Obsessing over what they do in the bedroom won't help you interact with them, and they'll probably think you're a creep. Instead, focus on the good and everyday parts of the person. For example, maybe Leslie is educated, compassionate, great with dogs, and helpful. Being LGBTQ doesn't rob people of personalities and admirable traits.

   • Ask them about their hobbies and interests. Let them tell you stories about their lives. Knowing them as a person can make them feel less scary or strange to you. ^[1]
2. 2
   Consume media about LGBTQ individuals. Try watching movies and TV shows that include LGBTQ folks in their ordinary lives, like The Fosters and The Kids Are All Right. This can help you understand what it is like to be LGBT.

   • Not all media is realistic. If the character is flat and stereotyped, and/or there are no LGBTQ people involved in the media creation, then there's a good chance it isn't accurate.
3. 3
   Consider that many LGBTQ couples want the same things in life that heterosexual couples do: holding hands, kissing, making each other breakfast, growing old together, etc. They aren't automatically promiscuous or dangerous. Many LGBTQ folks are kind and caring people, who just want to love and be loved by a consenting partner.

   • Gay individuals can have long-lasting and happy relationships. ^[2]
4. 4
   Don't associate LGBTQ individuals with promiscuous or immoral behavior. Studies show that gay people are no more likely to be child molesters than straight folks are. Furthermore, gay individuals aren't particularly any more promiscuous than straight people. ^[3] Stop seeing gay people as depraved and oversexed, and realize that they can be ordinary people who do ordinary things.

   • Gay individuals can control themselves, just like straight individuals. ^[4]
5. 5
   Recognize that your religious beliefs cannot dictate what other people do. In the US, the First Amendment (freedom of religion) states that people can practice the religion they wish, and religion cannot be forced upon them. It isn't legal to force someone into following your religious beliefs, whatever they may be. Thus, if your religion prohibits gay marriage, you are welcome not to marry someone gay, but you cannot use it to stop other people from marrying.
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This section applies to Christians and offers help for accepting all of God's children, including the gay ones.

1. 1
   Recognize that God loves all his children. God loves everyone, and sins don't make you unlovable or unwanted. ^[5] God practices forgiveness, and you will be more like Him if you do the same.
2. 2
   Consider that no one follows every passage in the Bible. The oft-quoted Leviticus also tells people not to wear clothes of different fabrics, yet many good Christians do this. These are instructions to keep Israelites separate and do not apply to you today. God won't send you to hell for wearing a cotton-and-polyester shirt, eating shrimp, or shaving.
3. 3
   Judge not. Your job on Earth is not to judge your neighbor, but to make the world a better place in your way. It is up to God to judge your LGBTQ neighbors, not up to you. God will weigh the goodness and badness in their hearts and actions, just like He will weigh yours.
4. 4
   Consider that the Bible is more ambiguous on gay love than previously believed. In contexts, some quotes regarding gay folks are in a specific instance (e.g. idolatry), and do not condemn gay love in general. ^[6] Condemnations are often related to the period and context (for example, condemnation of tax collectors was because most tax collectors were corrupt back then, and it doesn't mean that Jesus hates IRS workers).

   • In Sodom and Gomorrah, they were practicing not loving relationships with other men, but gang rape of them (among other sins such as failing to help the poor).
   • The Bible also tells stories of same-gender lovers: Ruth and Naomi, and David and Jonathan. These passages include romantic promises to each other, such as David saying that Jonathan's love for him was more wonderful than the love of women.
5. 5
   Recognize Jesus' acceptance of LGBTQ folks. Several quotes from Jesus show that he believed that some people were born gay and that there is nothing wrong with this. He was kind to same-gender couples and stood up for the oppressed.

   • Jesus suggests that some men are "born eunuchs," an ancient term for being gay, that these people are part of God's natural order, and heterosexual marriage is not the right path for everyone. ^[7]
   • In one passage, Jesus heals a gay man's lover, and shows them acceptance, without criticizing their love.
   • Christianity encourages people to love and accept one another. ^[8]
   • It teaches you to treat others with respect and dignity. ^[9]
   • There are churches that welcome gay parishioners and have gay pastors.
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