CDC: LGBT Teens More Prone to Risky Behavior

The results of a new Centers for Disease Control report further confirms what we've heard before. Namely, that LGBT teens are more likely to engage in risky, health threatening behavior than their straight counterparts. Sadly, the report claims to "not know" what causes the more self-destructive behavior in LGBT teens. I suspect that we all know (as do the reports authors) the real cause: anti-gay societal bigotry against and incessant attacks by Christianists on LGBT citizens. Being constantly told one is evil, going to go to Hell, called a deviants - the whole litany of lies and hate that I and others in the LGBT blogosphere write about all the time - takes a heavy psychological toll. Worse yet, efforts to start GSA's and implement anti-bullying policies that would help these LGBT teens are consistently opposed by the modern day Pharisee of the Christian Taliban who want the special right to abuse and denigrate others. It's unfortunate that the survey questions utilized did not ask the question the researchers probably did not what to hear answered. Then it would have been harder to close one's eyes to the fruits of religious based hate and bigotry. Here are highlights from Huffington Post:
*
Gay and bisexual high school students are more likely than their heterosexual classmates to smoke, drink alcohol or do other risky things, according to a government study released Monday.
*
Based on anonymous surveys of 156,000 high school students, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study is the largest by the government to look at sexual orientation and behavior in teens. It echoes similar findings in some smaller studies.
*
Gay, lesbian and bisexual students reported worse behavior in half to 90 percent of the risk categories, depending on the survey site. Why? CDC officials don't know for sure: The survey didn't ask kids why they smoked or attempted suicide or did other things that could be dangerous.
*
But gay, lesbian and bisexual students deal with stigma, disapproval and social rejection. "Many risk behaviors are related to how people feel about themselves and the environment they're in," noted the study's lead author, Laura Kann of the CDC's division of adolescent and school health.
*
About 4 to 10 percent of heterosexual students said they attempted suicide in the previous year. For gay and lesbian students: 15 percent to 34 percent. For bisexual students: 21 percent to 32 percent.
*
It is far past time that the members of the Christian Taliban and professional Christian set be held accountable for the fruits of their foul handiwork. By not seeking the answer this important question, our enemies will take the report results and no doubt twist them around and use them as proof of the dangers of homosexuality.