Demonstrating the commitment the far left has to elevating the level of civil discourse in our society, belligerent homosexual Congressman Barney Frank recently resorted to name-calling in an interview with the website 365gay.com.  Answering a question about the Supreme Court potentially overturning the Defense of Marriage Act, Frank dismissed that possibility saying, "I wouldn't want it to go to the United States Supreme Court now because that homophobe Antonin Scalia has too many votes on this current court."  How classy.

In Frank's warped worldview, anyone who opposes the spread of homosexuality in our culture is a homophobe.  This offensive misuse of the term is more than irresponsible.  It is ignorant and slanderous.

Homophobia is defined as a fear or hatred of homosexuals.  To pejoratively label anyone who has moral objections to the practice of homosexuality a homophobe is such a blatant overreach that it effectively strips the term of any real meaning.  There are homophobes in America today.  But who they are just might surprise you.

To illustrate this, let me first begin by asking a question.  When someone you care about picks up a loaded revolver to play a game of Russian Roulette, what is the loving response?  To pat them on the back and say, "Well, this wouldn't be my cup of tea, but go for it.it's who you are!"?  Or would it be to rip the gun out of their hand and tell them how dangerous, irresponsible, and deadly their behavior is?  If you're struggling to answer this question, please stop reading and seek counseling.

Physically, the consequences of homosexuality are devastatingly apparent.  According to the Omega Journal of Death and Dying, the median age of death for homosexual men is between 40 and 43.  The median age of death for heterosexuals is between 74 and 80.  In 2003, the Center for Disease Control noted that homosexuals accounted for nearly 65% of all new HIV cases (keeping in mind that they make up only 2-3% of the entire population), and that cases of Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Hepatitis A and B, Lymphogranuloma Venereum, and virtually every other sexually transmitted disease disproportionately affected the homosexual community.

Psychologically, the effects of homosexuality on an individual are just as deplorable.  According to the well respected Archives of General Psychiatry in 1999, "homosexual people are at substantially higher risk for some forms of emotional problems, including suicid(e), major depression, anxiety disorder, conduct disorder, and nicotine dependence."  Further, Dr. N.E. Whitehead from the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuals stated, "Studies show homosexuals have a substantially greater risk of suffering from psychiatric problems than do heterosexuals.  We see higher rates of suicide, depression, bulimia, antisocial personality disorder, and substance abuse."  And contrary to the misconceptions advanced by the homosexual lobby, these psychological problems are rarely associated with a stigma they endure from society.

Spiritually, an unrepentant practicing homosexual is engaging in an activity that is explicitly and unquestionably condemned by both the Old and New Testaments, and is completely irreconcilable with any Biblical understanding of Godly living.

In light of these realities, could someone explain to me how knowing these crippling physical, psychological, and spiritual consequences of the homosexual lifestyle and then encouraging a person to embrace it is loving?  Urging another human being to engage in a risky behavior that will leave them dead at nearly half the age of the general population is an odd definition of love in my book.

The truth is that the people who love homosexuals are the ones who have the courage to face the bigotry and slander from hate-peddlers like Barney Frank and stand up for moral truth.  They are the ones that face the mockery and derision of fools in an effort to take the Russian Roulette pistol from the hand of the homosexual.

So who is the homophobe, Barney?  The gay rights lobby in this country works unceasingly to advertise and glamorize a deadly lifestyle.  They celebrate behavior that tears families apart, wrecks homes, and sentences people to lifetimes of loneliness, confusion, disease, and heartache.  And politicians like Barney Frank use their positions to make it easier for them to ensnare and attract hurting, confused people in need of love and help.  Quite frankly, I can't think of anything more homophobic than that.

Peter W. Heck