My step brother was gay, he was 12 years older than me and didn't grow up with my parents but moved to MN when he was 18. My parents loved him even though he made it extremely difficult. He had a lifetime of sadness seeing friends die from addiction, suicide. He died of a suspected overdose about 6 years ago and my mom found him which was a pretty tragic end to years if her counciling and loving a kid that wasn't hers.
you would have to believe no one would choose that path. but for whatever reason they are wired that way.
My dad's cousin was gay , no one in the family disowned him but I also don't think he could find the people he was looking for in rural WI.
he died when I was about 14 that was also about the height of the aids
he lived in Miami with his boyfriend.
the more normalized gay couples got , it is a completely normal thing in Madison WI , even 18 years ago when my kids were in catholic school in Madison one of their class mates had 2 moms. I think one was a fire fighter the other a cop. no one even at teh catholic school gave them a hard time , they were just people who wanted a good education for their child.
anyway in those places where they can live a normal life , it is a lot more healthy for them , they get married , raise families , get involved in the community , own houses and are just good citizens.
when they were forced to live on the fringes of society , they were a lot less healthy. Similar to your step brother.
Aids is what got my dad's cousin.
I have gay co-workers , a gay kid , friends with gay kids.
so places where they can live a healthy life , just make sense , better testing , better health care , not being disowned or tossed out, all leads to them being able to better manage life the way they are and less likely to end up in addiction , disease , and death.
