The other side of the coin

Recent waves have been made about enforcement of Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice policy regarding counselling of LGBTQ youth in their care. the basic policy is:
" I.        POLICY
In accordance with state and federal laws, each juvenile under the jurisdiction of the Department for Juvenile Justice (DJJ), shall have the right to live in an environment free of harassment and discrimination. DJJ shall be committed to providing a healthy and accepting setting for juveniles placed in the care of DJJ. DJJ staff shall respect the dignity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and intersex (LGBTQI) juveniles and create an environment that is safe and free of discrimination."

The reason for this can be found in Center for Disease Control information found at  http://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/youth.htm  Which fairly well covers the difference between safe environments and those in which LGBTQ youth are subjected to varying degrees of disapproval from mere comments to outright bullying.  Such attitudes toward LGBTQ are social in nature but it cannot be denied that they are largely fueled by religious perceptions and teaching that any such orientation is "sinful" and/or degrading.  

The effect of such teaching generally is harmful even when accompanied with lessons on dealing with "sin" in love even if the basic premise is true.  

What if it is not?

The major part of the "waves" has to do with the implementation of the policy as stated:

H. DJJ staff, volunteers, interns, and contractors, in the course of their work, shall not refer to juveniles by using derogatory language in a manner that conveys bias towards or hatred of the LGBTQI community. DJJ staff, volunteers, interns, and contractors shall not imply or tell LGBTQI juveniles that they are abnormal, deviant, sinful, or that they can or should change their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The "waves" are all about whether this is a "religious test" designed to keep "Christians" out of counselling.  It is not.  It is entirely based on the perception of what constitutes an environment that is "safe and free of discrimination" both from the standpoint of indoctrinating the general population with a primarily religious perception and from the standpoint of the usually fairly fragile self-image of the youth themselves.

Another element of that question of harm from the perception of the basic action as "sin" (as opposed to the intent and effect) is the question of the feelings themselves.  That small percentage has attractions that we don't share (Honestly, I think women are nuts and when I hear a comment like "isn't he just dreamy?" I look at the guy and wait for the punch line) but we should be able to relate by realizing that there IS a difference in normal attractions and that small percentage just represents one end of a spectrum.  The point, though is how important "attraction" is both in establishing a loving relationship and in maintaining it through the years.  We are saying that that percentage of people that are different can never establish a normal, fulfilling relationship with someone who "hangs the moon" for them.  

Do you believe that a loving God would allow such feelings to leave these people twisting in the wind?