Smokerphobia

This poster attempts to equate teaching children not to smoke with homophobia. I won't bore you with the specifics, but:

To add insult to injury, many offer stop smoking programs as if they had the right to tell people who smoke that their lifestyle choice was less than their own.
“Certain Gene Found to Influence Why People Start Smoking and Why Some Get Addicted and Others Don’t” —APA
Few people recognize that smokers are “born that way” and there is scientific proof for the genetic propensity for smoking. Information published by the APA about the genetic links to smoking are consistently ignored.

Okay, so this sounds good, right? Smoking and homosexuality, however, are not equivalent. Smoking truly is a lifestyle choice. (Yup, I'm a smoker, and as horrible as addiction is, it's still a lifestyle choice. I could choose to end my addiction. I'd probably end up killing someone first, but it's still a choice.) After all, smoking is not a part of the human condition. Sex is. Healthy adults have sex. Healthy adults want to have sex. Healthy adults think about sex. All healthy adults. So, sexuality is not a choice. One cannot choose to have sexuality.

This is why the argument that "well, gays would be okay as long as they never engaged in gay sex" is so ridiculous. Hey, why don't you try not engaging in straight sexual behavior? Don't think about sex, don't want to have sex, don't have sex. Actually, to make the comparison more apt, think, desire and perform gay sex. Asking a homosexual to engage in hetero sex is exactly like asking a hetero to engage in homosexual sex. I tried to imagine spending the rest of my life engaging in lesbian sex, and I couldn't wrap my mind around it. Not because I find lesbian sex offensive, but it's just not for me. I suppose I could go through the motions, but I'd never stop wanting the penis. (Yeah, I said it. You should be used to this by now.)

Ok Ok Ok…… So at what point do we draw the line? at denying people civil rights?

There is obviously a huge difference between educating people about the very real consequences of smoking and hating smokers. Hopefully we can all see that being an educator that teaches that there are consequences to smoking does not automatically make that person a “smokerphobe” who hates smokers and wants to prevent them from enjoying the freedom to smoke.
There are very real consequences to homosexual behavior. Educating about those consequences is not the mark of a bigot, a hater, or even a homophobe.

what are the "very real consequences to homosexual behavior"? other than being hated by asshats like this? none. sorry. get over it. aids is not a gay disease. in africa, where aids is far more prevalent, aids is a HETEROSEXUAL disease, spread primarily from husband to wife.

i suppose beetlewhatever could be referencing higher rates of depression, suicide, etc. in the gay community, but what do you think is more likely, that (a) a penis in an anus or two vaginas in the same bed result in mental illness, or (b) constantly being the victim of hatred, bigotry and violence results in mental illness? you decide.

so, can we please stop with the gaybashing? it looks ugly on you.