In a previous article I said that only 14 of the 192 countries in the UN allow gay people to live, to be free, to have job security, and to marry each other. The irony is that all 192 countries are supposed to abide by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which the United Nations General Assembly adopted on 10 December 1948. In article 22 of this declaration social security is described. It states that everyone, as a member of society is entitled to economic, cultural, and social rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
This means that every individual has the right to the cultural, job, and social welfare advantages which the country he/she lives in offers. This includes governmental programs that promote the welfare of the nation. The individual has the right to sufficient food, shelter, health services, and the following benefits for survival:
- Old age pensions;
- Support of a widow or child in case of the death of the breadwinner;
- Medical care;
- Maternity benefit;
- Unemployment benefit;
- Sickness leave benefit;
- Disability benefit;
According to the website "dosomething.org" there are 1.7 million homeless teens in the United States and 40% of them are members of the LGBT community. At the most the LGBT community is about 10% of any population. If 40% of the homeless teens in the US are part of the LGBT family it means that a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender teen has a 4 time bigger chance of becoming homeless. Why is that? I think it is fair to say that many LGBT teens are thrown out of their homes by their own families. That is why they have a bigger risk of ending up on the streets. I use the US as an example for a few reasons:
- The US are known as the land of the free
- The US has a moderate stand on gay issues
- The US as the leader of the West is supposed to lead by example
As a Christian I believe that Jesus is my Saviour and the ultimate example of how I should treat other people. For that reason I expect the church to step in when the government of a country does not fulfil its responsibility towards the weak, the sick, the widows, and the children. I believe the church, if it wants to be the voice of God in society, should be in the forefront of standing up for those whose rights are not protected. Unfortunately many churches are doing exactly the opposite in this case. They are on the forefront of those who tell parents they should abuse, neglect, discipline, and abandon their own LGBT kids. In stead of standing up for the weak, they are shouting against them. Maybe it is time for the church to ask itself whether it is doing what it was sent out to do.
In my Bible Jesus did not stand on the forefront of throwing stones and yet, as I go through the numerous websites that churches have, I only see stone-throwing and hatred against the LGBT community. Even when Jesus believed that the person in front of him sinned, He did not throw stones.
I believe there are supposed to be two important powers that look after the youth in this world today. They are Christianity and the United Nations, yet in terms of the information here above neither of them are sticking to their own declarations
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