Offer hope for those who are hurting

A gay pride event in Sandpoint? I read the story about Jeff Bohnhoff and PFLAG and immediately felt deep sadness for our community. Let me explain why.

I just spent the week in Dallas, met with ex-gays, ex-transgenders and listened to their stories. Without exception, they came out of abusive, hurting, painful past experiences. They spoke of deep regret. Laura Beth Perry (Transgender to Transformed) spoke of the horror she went through to mutilate her body, all encouraged by her local chapter of PFLAG under the guise of embracing her true identity. It was a lie and she now knows it.

My fellow Sandpoint and North Idaho neighbors, what the LGBTQ community and their local supporters are pushing is an anti-science, unhealthy lifestyle. The LGBTQ community has higher rates of STDs, domestic violence, depression, suicide, and substance abuse. Is this what we want to encourage in our community? Is this what we want to encourage in our schools and library? Is this what we elected our mayor to promote?

Believe me when I say, this has nothing to do with “equal rights.” Is has to do with mainstreaming a lifestyle that is destructive. Just say no to businesses that push this agenda. Encourage counseling, not celebration. Offer hope for those who are hurting.

DON S. OTIS

Sandpoint