California Lawmakers Pass Resolution Blaming Religious People for High Suicide Rates in the LGBT Community

California Lawmakers Pass Resolution Blaming Religious People for High Suicide Rates in the LGBT Community

Lawmakers in California have passed a resolution that singles out the state’s religious communities and forces them to fully support LGBT individuals. 

In an astonishing bid to have people of faith conform to the pervading progressive culture, the legislators even blamed religious individuals for many of the issues faced by those in the LGBT community today – including suicide, the Federalist reports.

The resolution, which recently passed through the state assembly, reads: “the Legislature calls upon all Californians to embrace the individual and social benefits of family and community acceptance” of LGBT people. The document unapologetically pins blame on people of faith for being contributors to the sky-rocketing suicide rates among the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

“The stigma associated with being LGBT often created by groups in society, including therapists and religious groups, has caused disproportionately high rates of suicide, attempted suicide, depression, rejection, and isolation amongst LGBT and questioning individuals…” the bill reads.

So, with this assertion put forward as fact, the California legislature is effectively seeking to force religious people to agree with and support the LGBT community even if they hold strong personal convictions that would draw them away from doing so.

There is some good news, however. Because the political action is merely a resolution, it is not legally binding. It does, however, signal a serious shift towards the policing of belief systems that are held by millions of Americans. “They couldn’t criminalize you, but they could obliterate your reputation and your life,” commented Glenn Stanton at the Federalist, noting that the resolution “will grease the skids for it becoming enforceable law.”

In addition, to be clear, there is no solid evidence to support the idea that non-affirming religious groups are a direct cause of suicide in the LGBT community.

“Quite simply, anyone making the claim family responses and religious teaching cause suicide do so absent any bit of scientific proof,” Stanton added. 

Photo courtesy: Drahomir Posteby Mach/Unsplash