Adam Takes on Mayor Garza
Sunday, February 01, 2004
Ed just doesn’t get it.
San Antonio Mayor Ed Garza that is.
On the one hand, he had high hopes of banning smoking in all restaurants in the Alamo City. Why? Because of the lurking dangers of second hand smoke.
Yet, on the other hand, Mayor Garza signed an official proclamation on June 15th, 2003 declaring that it was Homosexual Pride Week.
Am I the only one that sees a major contradiction here?
If you just followed the smoking story alone, you would think that our mayor was legitimately concerned for the health of our citizens.
After all, according the Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to secondhand smoke causes irritation of the eye, nose, and throat. Beyond that, passive smoking can also irritate the lungs, leading to coughing, excess phlegm, chest discomfort, and reduced lung function. Now, to be clear, the non-smoker who endures this more dramatic kind of health risk is usually a family member in the home of a chain smoker, not a guy eating fajitas at his favorite, albeit smoky, restaurant.
But what about the risks of homosexual sex?
The only epidemiological study to date on the life span of homosexual men concluded that they lose up to 20 years of life expectancy. 20 YEARS! In fact, homosexual men are 1,000 times more likely than heterosexual men to contract AIDS.
Alright class, let’s compare and contrast. Let’s put the risk of second hand smoking in restaurants on one side of the scale. And the risk of homosexual behavior on the other side of the scale. An irritable nose vs. DYING 20 years prematurely! Yeah, I think I’d prefer the itchy nose. How ’bout you?
I’ve got just one question for Mayor Garza. Have you lost your mind?
Kind sir, do you not see the egregious discrepancy here? Why would you endorse a death-style such as homosexuality? Not only is it immoral, unnatural and unbiblical. But it’s downright unhealthy.
Just look at the number of partners the average homosexual man has. Before the AIDS virus, according to a far-ranging study in 1978, 25% claimed 50-100 sexual partners, 15% claimed 100-249, 17% claimed 250-499, 15% claimed 500-999, and 28% claimed more than 1,000 sexual partners. That’s a lot of reckless sex to be sure.
Sadly, even after the deadly virus that leads to AIDS was discovered, very little comparative restraint was used. Instead of more than 6 sexual partners a month in 1982, the average non-monogamous homosexual male in San Francisco reported having 4 partners per month in 1984.
According to The San Francisco Chronicle, “Experts believe syphilis is on the rise among gay and bisexual men because they are engaging in unprotected sex with multiple partners, many of whom they met in anonymous situations such as sex clubs, adult bookstores, meetings through the internet and in bathhouses.”
A study done in Baltimore and reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that homosexual men contracted syphilis at three to four times the rate of heterosexual men. Promiscuity is the factor most responsible for the extreme rates of these and other sexually transmitted diseases. In 1999, for example, Seattle, Washington reported that 85% of all syphilis cases were among self-identified homosexual practitioners.
In light of the ugly truth that homosexual behavior is remarkably dangerous and downright deadly, why would Mayor Garza PROCLAIM homosexual pride week this past June? It just doesn’t make any sense. Why should a city official give his blessing to illicit, immoral behavior? Despite the fact that, at the time, Texas still had a law on the books prohibiting sodomy.
What’s next? Carjackers’ pride week? Wife beaters’ pride week? KKK members’ pride week? Pedophile perverts’ pride week? Adulterers’ pride week?
“Wait a minute, McManus. Now you’ve gone too far. After all, aren’t homosexuals born that way?”
Absolutely not!
In fact, there has never been ONE scientific study that documents that homosexuals are born that way.
Dr. Simon LaVay, a gay neuroscientist, TRIED to prove a genetic connection. After his gay partner died of AIDS, LeVay decided to study the issue. He found that the size of the hypothalamus in the brain was generally larger in heterosexual men than in homosexual men. Therefore he initially concluded that these findings "suggest that sexual orientation has a biologic substrate." However, an analysis of the study and its methodology reveals some serious flaws. The first problem, which LeVay himself readily admits, is the fact that all 19 of his homosexual subjects had died of complications associated with AIDS. Therefore, the difference in the hypothalamus might well be attributed to the AIDS rather than homosexuality.
But Dr. LaVay ultimately told Discover Magazine, “I did not prove that homosexuality is genetic, or find a genetic cause for being gay. I didn’t show that gay men are born that way, the most common mistake people make in interpreting my work.”
More impressively, William Byne and Bruce Parsons from Columbia University in 1993 wrote a comprehensive review article entitled, “Human Sexual Orientation: The Biological Theories Reappraised.” The article reviewed 135 research studies, prior reviews, academic summaries, books, and chapters of books -- in essence the entire literature on homosexuality, of which only a small portion is actual research. The abstract summarized in its findings that there is no evidence at present to substantiate that biological factors are the primary basis for sexual orientation.
Case closed.
Perhaps Mayor Garza has bought into another myth promulgated by the homosexual lobby, that they represent 10% of the entire population.
Hogwash!
According to the University of Chicago’s Social Organization of Sexuality, the most comprehensive study of sexual behavior to date, approximately 1-3 percent of the population is homosexual.
“Alright McManus,” you say. “So homosexuals participate in unhealthy behaviors, they’re not genetically compelled to be homosexual and they only represent 1-2% of the population. But don’t they lead normal lives for the most part?”
Sadly, the answer is no. According to a 2001 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, gays and lesbians have extremely high rates of psychiatric illness, drug and alcohol abuse as well as suicide.
Now, the homosexual advocacy groups immediately claim that homosexuals do in fact struggle with those problems in a disproportionate way compared to heterosexuals because “we live in a homophobic society.”
But, ironically enough, the research reported in the AMA Journal was conducted in Holland, which Dr. Bill Maier of Focus on the Family points out is “arguably one of the most gay-friendly countries on earth.” The authors of the study themselves state “the Dutch social climate towards homosexuality has long been and remains considerably more tolerant” than other countries.
Are you surprised that there is such clear and convincing evidence from science and from the personal experience of homosexuals that their death-style leads to physical, emotional and mental problems?
After all, God calls it an abomination. It is contrary to His ordained order.
You don’t have to be a Christian to see the power of the argument based on nature alone. But it was God who created men and women with their biological differences.
The Bible points out in Romans 1:25 that “they exchanged the truth of God for a lie…because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another, Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”
When Mayor Garza first proclaimed June 15th, 2003 to be Homosexual Pride Week, I challenged KSLR listeners to e-mail and call him. This is how he responded.
Garza wrote, "As a life-long Christian, I have gained the wisdom to respect others and try and not be judgmental. After losing my mother to cancer at age 17, I became closer to God and began to live life to its fullest, becoming more tolerant and patient with people I couldn't always understand or agree with. As the elected mayor of San Antonio I choose to represent, as best as possible, ALL San Antonio citizens. This is what I strive for in trying to become a better person, Christian and mayor."
A couple thoughts for Mayor Garza.
First, God gave us a mind to be discerning. If we discern that a teenager is having pre-martial sex, it is right to challenge her, in love, to abstain for her own health and well being. If we discern that a family member has a drinking problem, it is right to challenge them, in love, for the sake of his liver and because the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And if we know of someone who is engaged in homosexual behavior, the most discerning, loving thing we can do is to challenge them to get right with God. If for no other reason than they will die 20 years prematurely otherwise. The LAST thing the homosexual needs is for anyone, whether it be a family member, minister of the church or mayor, to condone and encourage him to CONTINUE in his sin.
Correct me if I’m wrong. But when Jesus of Nazareth confronted the woman caught in the act of adultery, he did not say, “Go and sin AGAIN.” He said, “Go and sin NO MORE.” Yes, He embraced mercy and love by sparing her life from a certain stoning. But, he also embraced truth and righteousness, and challenged her to get out of that lifestyle.
We should do no less.
And finally, Mr. Mayor, this thought.
The measure of one's Christianity is not our tolerance for sin, but our INTOLERANCE of sin. Yes, you need to represent ALL people. But you should not condone the BEHAVIOR of all people. That’s the difference!
TAKE A STAND ACTION STEPS:
1. Call San Antonio Mayor Ed Garza at (210) 207-7060 and object to his proclamation that June 15th, 2003 was homosexual pride week.
2. E-mail Mayor Ed Garza and object: mayoredgarza@sanantonio.gov
3. Write Mayor Ed Garza, San Antonio City Council, P.O. Box 839966, San Antonio, TX 78283-3966
4. If you don’t already subscribe to my daily e-mail alert about upcoming guests, newsmaker interview and practical ways you can make a difference for the Lord, go to my website: www.TakeAStand.net.
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