Bad effects of anti-gay laws - study

Was talking to someone recently about the antichrist Abbott, and they were almost making excuses for him. Their view was that love him or hate him, you have to give him credit as he's really worked for where he's got, being prime minister. That those who know him personally probably think he's a really nice man. That he had to suck up to the Pentecostals to get their vote and get him to power. That it was only politics. 

Obviously I didn't agree. Yes, he's worked hard at politics all right. But it's becoming increasingly clear that that's the only thing he's worked hard on. It certainly couldn't have been formulating sensible policies, or even simply just policies. 

That said, there is at least one policy that he appears to be obsessed with; stop the poofs getting married! Which by the above view would simply be harmless politics for his advantage. Just a bit of political play you know. Adopt policies that suit the people you need to vote for you. Everyone knows how it works. Nothing personal you know.

Or is it....... How do those in the gay community, especially those in teenage years struggling with who they are, react to who they are being discussed and debated in the public arena? How do these people feel when somebody says they can't get married and have kids because they're gay in this so called harmless political play? Well blow me down there's a new study out on just this subject.

The rocket scientists over in the US have done a study on how anti-gay legislation affects young gay people. And surprise surprise, it's harmful when the state has a position that says they're not as good as straight people.

The results confirmed Bauermeister’s hypothesis that men who plan on raising children had higher levels of depression and lower levels of self-esteem in states with LGB restrictive policies than men with the same aspirations in states without the bans.

Furthermore, in policy-restrictive states, the more a participant valued his fatherhood aspirations, the more symptoms of psychological distress he reported.

Bauermeister said the implications of such findings might help cast light on the often-myopic view of legislation.

“We usually think about how policies affect our current behavior, but this is basically telling us that policy can affect future intention of behavior,” he said. “You don't have to be a parent right now to start feeling the psychological consequences of distress. You can actually already start seeing some of that even if you start thinking about having a kid 20 years down the line.” more

It's a well known fact that young LGBT people in Australia are much more likely to have mental health issues such as depression, and more likely to suicide, than straight people. Now here is a study that makes a direct link between anti-gay legislation and these emotional problems.It's not hardto figure out really. How would straight people feel if they weren't allowed to be married and all because they're straight?

The article goes on to point out to politicians, who often have no idea of the consequences of their harmless political posturing for re-election, that they are actually doing real harm to vulnerable people. I find this particularly interesting with Tony Abbott the so called Christian, that his political play is harming vulnerable young Australians. Not that I'd expect Abbott to suddenly develop a sense of empathy or caring. Evidently that's not in his version of Christianity.

Public Health Prof. Gary Harper said politicians that propose such restrictive policies are often more concerned with getting reelected than with the consequences the policies produce. 

“(Politicians) need to realize that those restrictions do have real-world influences on individuals, especially adolescents who are developing their sense of self and sense of who they are,” Harper said. “That’s a really critical time and these restrictive and oppressive laws can have an extremely damaging impact on the adolescent.” 

Harper’s emphasis on adolescents comes from 20 years of experience as a clinical child psychologist with a focus on young gay men. He said Bauermeister’s research underscores worrisome implications for the younger demographic. 

“If from very early on you were told that you are not as good as everybody else, then you are not going to develop a healthy sense of self-esteem because at every turn you are told you’re not as good as other people,” Harper said. “When we have marriage restriction laws, we are basically saying to a young gay person, ‘Your love for another person is not recognized by the state, so that means it’s not as good as heterosexual love.’ ” more