Most Americans now say learning their child is gay wouldn’t upset them

[damnedifIknow]

Three decades ago, most Americans felt it would be troubling to have a child tell them he or she was gay: In a 1985 Los Angeles Times survey, nine-in-ten American adults (89%) said they would be upset if this happened, and just 9% said they would not be.

But views of homosexuality have shifted over time, and today nearly six-in-ten (57%) say they would not be upset if they had a child come out as gay or lesbian, according to a Pew Research "


The change in attitudes toward having a gay child reflects broader shifts in views of homosexuality. More than six-in-ten Americans (63%) now say homosexuality should be accepted by society, compared with 46% in July 1994, according to the same May poll. In 1994, 49% of the public said society should discourage homosexuality.

Millennials are the least likely to say they would be upset (29%) if their child told them he or she was gay or lesbian. But the older the respondents, the more likely they are to say the moment would be a difficult one: 36% of Gen Xers say they would be upset, as would 47% of Boomers and 55% of Silents."

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/29/most-americans-now-say-learning-their-child-is-gay-wouldnt-upset-them/

[DiverDave]

1. I love my kids for who they are

not what I want them to be.
I don't get how someone can just cut their kids out of their lives, I just don't.
I'm convinced my kids are good kids because they know I love them no matter what.

[closeupready]

5. Yet, gay kids continue to be cast out from their families.

Has happened to way too many people I know. Even recently.

[DiverDave]

7. I assume that the parents

told these children that they loved them?
To throw them away like a used Kleenex shows that they were lying.
If either (or both) of my sons told me they were gay, I'd still love them.
Heck, I fell in love with them before they were born.
I guess some folks don't make that connection?
And I simply cannot believe that people could do such a thing.
But, clearly they do.

[closeupready]

8. "clearly they do." Yep, sadly, they sure do.

What can I say.

[jwirr]

2. When my grandson asked me how I felt about gay marriage I supported it totally but at the end

I explained why I was glad that none of my grandchildren were gay. At the time he asked life was still pretty damned hard for gay couples. And still isn't easy.

It was the same way we felt when my sister married a black man in the 70s. And when my daughters each married Native Americans in the 80s. When there is hatred directed towards a couple because people disapprove of what they have done it is never easy. That changed for interracial couples for the most part and I hope it will for gay couples as time goes by.

The objection in the poll may not be all about gay couples as it is about how hard it is to be a gay person in general.

[hollysmom]

3. I guess people are finally realizing the sky will not fall and

that loving your kid is currently in fashion? I remember when bullying your kids was considered being a good parent, my cousins were so jealous of me for having the parents that did not beat us and liked to see kids smile.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. My mother, back in 1980, tortured herself when my brother came out.

She was convinced it was something she had done wrong in her life and she was being punished by having a gay child. ( Everything was always pretty much about her).

A few years after her early death, some family secrets came out and I sure could understand why she felt guilty about some things, but remained appalled that a normally fairly smart woman would even think any behavior could determine genetic make up of her offspring.
Sadly, my other 2 brothers, both who became cops in our local county, have chosen not to accept my gay brother, and they are not on speaking terms.

Terribly sad family dynamics....sigh.

[cloudbase]

6. When I told my kids I loved them,

I didn't put any conditions on it.