Mission America head Linda Harvey dismissed concerns over homelessness in the LGBT community today, saying they are misplaced and blaming homeless LGBT youth for the problem.
Harvey explained on her radio show that the high homelessness rate among LGBT young adults isn’t a result of homes and shelters kicking people out due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Instead, Harvey said that LGBT youth themselves are to blame for being “stubborn” and becoming drifters:
‘Kids are kicked out of their homes just for being who they are,’ is how the saying goes, well let me offer another possibility that I’ve heard far too often: a parent learns that a son or daughter is claiming to be gay but an underage child still lives at home, so the now-heartbroken parent puts new restrictions on some of the activities like for instance, the teen is no longer going to be having sleepovers with that same-sex friend, or if the friend is a college student or has an apartment, visits over there will not be permitted. What does the teen do? It may become a fight where the teen storms out by choice and leaves voluntarily because the homosexual relationship is more important than that of his or her parents. And when that all-important relationship ends, the teen is too stubborn or already too-involved in alcohol or drugs or the premature independence of the homosexual life and he or she would rather drift than return home. It’s not always the case of course but personal decisions are at the heart of these issues.
