Nearly a third of individuals in this demographic have tried it. In fact, people in this demographic are two to six times more likely to try it than the general population. It is estimated that more than 1500 individuals from this demographic die from it every year, making it the leading cause of death for this demographic.
The fact is that nearly half of gay teens will attempt suicide and it's not that hard to figure out why. 90% of them have been harassed at school and they are bullied 2-3 times more than straight teens. Gay teens may come out to their parents only to be kicked out of the house, abused, or made to go through processes designed to rid them of their gayness. Being excommunicated from their religious group and/or told they are destined for hell doesn't help, either.
There is a teaching in Judaism that to save just one life is as if you have saved the entire world. Stopping these suicides will not take any radical changes in your beliefs. You don't need to support a hook-up culture; you can maintain your current value of saving intimacy for commitment, but just extend that value to include people of all orientations. You can continue to support strong, two-parent families, but just allow your picture of a perfect family to be headed by any two individuals who are in love and have committed their lives to each other, whether they are a man and a woman, two women, or two men.
If people were choosing to be gay to cause an uprising, I can see how people would be upset and unsupportive. But they're not. Honestly, why would anyone choose to be gay? Because they think being bullied and denied rights sounds like fun? More and more scientific research is showing a correlation between biology and sexual orientation. God made everyone a little bit differently, and some people happen to be gay. Let's move our culture toward being more accepting off these people who are so much more similar to us than different.
Statistics from speakforthem.org and nyaamerica.org
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