How do I explain to my stubborn friends that I’m who I am and that I’m still me and that there is nothing wrong with gays,lesbians and Ext.

Question:

Hello. Well today at school my friend asked me if there was a girl and she had the kind of personality that I like, “would I date her” I said yes, now I think I might lose my friends. Everyone in my class knows this except my teacher. But I’m afraid that they would find out and give me a lecture. I go to a very small Roman Catholic school and the catholic church does not allow this. Most of my friends always say that Gays,Lesbians and ext. are nasty and wrong. It gets me pissed off! I always tell them that there is nothing wrong with them,and that they are human. But they say other wise, and they always say WELL THE BIBLE SAYS THIS, I know that! But the bible says treat other like you would be treated! What I would like to ask is, “How do I explain to my stubborn friends that I’m who I am and that I’m still me and that there is nothing wrong with gays,lesbians and Ext.?”

Gabriella

Original letter submitted by:

Answer:

Hi Gabriella,

Thank you for reaching out to us here.

Discussions revolving around religion are never easy topics, as they can often get very heated with everyone’s varying opinions in how the religion is viewed, and then you toss in views around gays and religion and it is bound to become a difficult conversation to have.

While I can not say there is an easy solution to telling your friends and having them understand that there is nothing wrong with gays, lesbians, bisexuals, etc., I think that one possibility is going to be helping them realize that you are the same Gabriella that they have known for however long you have been friends, and that you haven’t changed.  If you can get your friends to think about it this way, they might see that you have a point. Perhaps you have another friend or two who understands your views and realizes that you are the same person, and just because you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or what not, has not changed the person who you are.

The key part here is that you should not get upset and mad with your friends when they first start to disagree with you, as your friends are entitled to their opinions too.  You just need to calmly talk with them and get them to look outside of the written words in the bible, and they need to think for themselves and come to the realization that their friend Gabriella is the same girl she has been since they first got to know her. If this doesn’t work, either change the subject or politely walk away from the conversation.

Should you feel the need to talk about this some more, you can always reach out to us at Trevor Chat at http://www.thetrevorproject.com/chat on Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday’s from 1:00 PM – 7:00 PM, or you call call the Trevor Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386, or you can always write to us again here at askTrevor.

Sincerely,
Trevor