Stop Comparing Homosexuality to Rape

It seems like every time some news item comes out about LGB people, either as individuals or as a group trying to secure their equality, people claiming to be Christians pop out of the woodwork and compaire being LGB to practicing pedophilia or bestiality, or they quote the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.

If you think this makes you look like you're taking the moral high ground, I have news for you. It doesn't. In fact, it makes you look so immoral that you can't even tell the difference between consensual sex and rape. It makes you look like a monster.

There's consensual sex-- two adults in full control of their faculties and without coercion agree to have sex and do so. Then there's non-consensual sex, AKA rape. This includes one or more people coercing another person to have sex through force, threat, drugs, or power differential. This also includes taking advantage of a situation where the other person cannot consent to sex because they are under the influence of drugs, or are injured, unconscious, disabled in such a way as to not understand what they are consenting to, or are too young to understand what they are consenting to.

Pedophilia is rape. Children do not have the capacity to consent to sex. The adult is using a power differential to coerce sex.

Bestiality is rape. Animals do not have the capacity to consent to sex with a human. The human is using a power differential to coerce sex.

Sodom and Gomorrah is about rape. The men of Sodom were using their greater number and their hometown advantage to "know" the strangers. The common argument here is that this is meant sexually. It's an attempted gang rape, and a rape of non-humans at that. (There are other non-sexual interpretations of this passage, but they don't come up in discussions of LGBT people, so we'll go with the sexual interpretation here.)

Two same-sex-attracted adults who both consent to a sexual liaison without coercion is not rape. When you compare homosexuality to bestiality, pedophilia, or the attempted gang rape in Sodom, you're demonstrating that you don't understand consent.

If you can't distinguish consensual sex and rape, why would anyone trust you on any moral matter? Why should we trust you preaching our sermons, teaching our children, leading our nation or communities, hearing court cases, or extending aid to the vulnerable members of our communities?

If you want to present yourselves as the moral guardians of our children and our nation, stop making arguments that paint yourselves as immoral monsters.