You must be kidding! I took so much s*** over simply being left handed, Don't expect fair treatment, in this world your lucky if thay let you live if you don't fit in.

Ther is no such thing as fair treatment. Cliqes and Cronyism prevail. Either your in or your out! Make the best of it, I have made a family of adopted pets. if humans won't accept you, something else will!

I'm not a big fan of kicking people when they're down. Sadly, most Christians act as if they have a PhD in kicking people when they're down.

A 2003 study by Ilan H. Meyer of Columbia University found that lesbian, gay and bisexual people have a higher prevalence of mental disorders than heterosexuals.

Laced, you’re absolutely correct. HazCats, you were chastised for simply being left handed? Where or when was this? I’m left handed and I experienced absolutely no problems growing up.

Indigo halo, regardless of the treatment accorded them by society; they are ultimately their own worst enemy. Yet, somehow you feel compelled to introduce Christians into this for reasons only known to yourself.

I can remember that my left-handed mother (she turned 80 this year) told me that her grade school and high school teachers would rap her knuckles with a wooden ruler when she was taking notes and that they would also tie her left hand to her chair so she could not use it. Eventually, she just stopped taking notes to prevent the punishment. I think this does not happen anymore, at least, I hope it does not!

I have actually heard of this but this was a very long while ago and not universally practiced. I think it had something to do with some old superstition that being left handed was the work of the devil.

It is a known, proven fact that left handed people are responsible for the theft of socks. When you can only find one of a pair, it was a lefty!!!

Wet Willy - I am Left Handed and this type of discrimination was quite prevalent as little as 40 years ago. What is more striking is that it is still present and practiced in many Asian Countries as well as Middle Eastern. I've travelled and worked in many and there is still some serious superstition about this trait that is alive and well.

I've always thought Left Handedness went hand in hand with taking a different perspective on things and that it was, to me at least, a good thing. I'm glad I am left handed despite what my First grade Penmanship Teacher thought!

Anyone who puts down people who are transgendered are just flat out ignorant bigots who plainly have been taught to hate EVERYTHING that doesn't fit into their nice ordered little world.

I bet each and every one of you people would seriously consider committing suicide if you woke up one morning and your gender was changed. You have absolutely no idea what it is like to be surrounded by hate filled bigots such as yourselves. People like you who would rather take a transgender person out and beat them to death for being different. It's not a choice, it's something that can't be changed. Anyone that thinks it can be is a total fool.

Damn, there are times when this country feels more like it's populated by the Taliban and Al Queda with the amount of hate many people have to anything different. Heck, many of you would fit right in with the Taliban and Al Queda when it comes to hating GLBT people. It's a huge myth about America being the land of of the free. Yeah free as long as you are like the rest of us. And you think transgender people are the sick ones. LOL

The concept of transgender is still mysterious to me, but last I checked, transgenders are not a threat to global safety nor are they violent and hurtful people.

Now my opinion of muslims....(no tolerance period)...

Sandy so you know i was not being insulting just matter of fact about it. Also some more insight for you. They do not wake up one morning and their gender is changed there are two scenarios to this. 1- they have always felt in their mind that they were suppossed to be the opposite sex so they have a sex change or 2- they were born hermaphroditic and the parents either chose a sex for them and it was the wrong one or waited for them to get old enough to decide on their own. I truely feel sorry for those in scenario 2 as if there was a way to know what there mind would develop the parents could choose the correct sex and they could avoid allot of problems and grow up as though they were born perfectly normal. those in scenario 1 I feel less sorry for in ways as they could opt not to get the sex change and seek some reprogramming of the mind. I still do not ridicule them they cannot help their disorder. It would be best if they had been able to seek medical assistance in chemically making their brain sex match their physical sex when very young upon the first inkling that they feel like they should be the opposite sex. I also feel less sorry for these folks as a good many are simply perverted and have a sex change merely for the perversion involved in their sexual activity.

For HazCatz Sorry about that what a dumb thing to bother someone for. My girlfriend is left handed and I love it, some things are just easier for her and if she stands on my left we make a great team in the kitchen.

Indigo Halo, I'm not christian, wasn't kicking anybody just being matter of fact. it's the same as a schizophrenic being more prone to depression and psychotic breakdowns and suicide and drug addiction. My exwife was schizophrenic so I am very well studied on that one. I'm not sure why you posted what you posted and have no idea what your problem is but at least make sure you are attacking a christian fundamentalist before making an attack geared toward a christian fundamentalist. I strongly dislike them as well and don't appreciate being mistaken for one.

It is physically impossible to chain brain chemistry after birth. There is no allotment of hormones or chemicals that can homogeneously change the developmental characteristics controlled by hormones in the womb. The brain your born with changes only slightly as you age, and most traits are set and hardwired from the first moment you open your eyes. Also, there is no such thing as mentally reprogramming a transsexual. It's the equivalent of torture and brainwashing under duress to change a person's opinion on their gender. Some parents do this to their children and it nearly always fails to do so, and successes lead to suicide. Transsexuals can no more change their gender than you. We don't, and can't change genders, but we can change our bodies so that we don't suffer from our condition.

You also failed to mention that the study sights the social stigmas associated with the GLBT community at large are the reasons for the increase in mental disorders, many of the disorders having no link to sexual orientation or gender identity and strong links to social rejection disorders, and anxiety and other anxious personality disorders. It's easy to take a line out of context and assume that this means that transsexuals are mentally ill. If anything, transsexuals suffer mental illness because of their perceived or otherwise gender, not from the reverse. Being different isn't a mental illness, but being persecuted for being so can cause them. "Don't use the words of others to prove that your right when in actuality your wrong." - Me

You bet, and disabled folk should just get up and play football!

Not everybody fits.

It's just another medical specialty racket, like the ADD racket- "speed" for spoiled children in dire need of a butt-whipping. A bunch of health-care "professionals" who noticed that "trans-gender medicine" is becoming popular, and decided to promote it in order to scoop up fees. Follow the money. Every one of these jokers advocating that a confused person mutilate their body for CA$H has a financial interest in doing so. If you can't love yourself, paying someone to chop off your junk isn't going to make you feel any better, no matter how many statistics "experts" point to.

And how many transgender people do you know that you're an expert?

It's not so much the part of stop being a transgender, but acting normal about it. If one acts "normal" about their sexuality (regardless of their sexuality), they'll be less likely to be alienated... and in turn (and in theory) be less likely to commit suicide. I see too many transgenders and homosexuals acting like a fool, and then wondering why they get grieved so much.

To the person that said we should stop being Transgender and be normal. I am normal, perhaps you should get educated about this issue. You are the kind of person mentioned in the article.

Actually, you can't say that. It really depends on the person. Sometimes people feel trapped in their bodies because of outside influences or people can't stand the way that their bodies function.

And I agree with ChrisWanker, he makes a good point about being "normal about one's sexuality." However, if a person have had some religious discipline, then they wouldn't be lost. It is the matter of how one was raised when they were little or who had been their for them in their lives.

I was raised Catholic, and my family taught me morals and values. At the same time, I was taught to respect other people, regardless of their race or gender because it is none of our business.

that is extremely insensitive!!

First of all, your misplaced apostrophe makes "transgender" possessive. I'm not sure what it's possessing, but I'm willing to bet your lack of education extends beyond sentence structure and social science. Second, what is your definition of "normal"? I think "normal" includes the ability to properly punctuate a sentence before you attempt to articulate your poorly-conceived argument.

Are you for real tornado28? Do you know that there is a gene that makes people transgender? How can you stop being who you are born being genetically? how thick can you be?

... or they realize they "acted on their emotions" and really didn't think things through (a common problem amongst today's extreme libs), and may have in fact acted quite foolishly .... And BEFORE Obama got around to enacting a bill that guaranteed happiness and lifetime financial assistance to all Transgender pre/post op citizens (legal American or illegal Alien)

Nope, I tried, but I can't feel much sympathy for these "folks". Thoughts of suicide will become much more prevalant for ALL sexual orientations in the years to come as more come to realize what little lies ahead for their future as they study recent and current examples of the despair that future full-blown socialism will lead to.

Give the Obama BS a break will ya?

Arent you late for a lynching or something?

(dont forget your hood)

stexan...there are lots of obama stories for you to go on and spread your ignorance and lies why dont you go there??

stexan- don't sit there and try to say you "tried to feel sympathy". bullsh1t! you are a close minded individual who has not one ounce of compassion or sympathy for anything that is outside your personal ideals. then you try to blame the "libs". jerk!

STexan....your bigotry shows through pretty clearly. How does it feel to go through life being a total a$$hole ?

MM-584706 - Please stop the hate and the name calling. It is useless and gets us no where. Different people have different opinions. You should maybe show more tolerance towards people when they have a view that is different than yours. Please stop your ugly, disgusting hatred.

Good for you Starlight! Family support is one HUGE factor in a successful transition!

WTF? Obamacare is or is not going to physically and mentally treat transgenders? Last I heard anyone who really wanted a gender change could go to Trinidad, CO and get fixed up. I'm sorry but what the hell does Obamacare and republicans have to do with the story, anyway? "Now have no insurance"??? Obamacare covers transgender needs? Then why are you upset with republicans?

WTF is Obamacare anyway?

If you are talking about the health insurance overhaul, then you are talking about getting people insured even if they have pre-existing conditions...so what's your problem with that?

Personally I would have preferred a Public Option but Republican wouldn't play ball.

stexan you are a completely uninformed and well you know what else.

It costs over $20,000 for Male to Female Sexual Reassignment Surgery in Trinidad, Co and closer to $40,000 for Female to Male. And this doesn't include possible breast implants/removal $4,000 to $8,000, facial surgery to try and make the male bone structure look more feminine ($3,000 and up).

None of this is covered my any insurance (private or public), more progressive countries than the US that actually CARE about their citizens pay for things like SRS and implants. But not in the US. So, the average M2F transgender person is looking at spending from $20,000 on up and none of that is covered by insurance. And considering they usually get fired from their job when they start to transition the likelihood they will ever be able to afford it is slim to none. Also you add on top of that $100-$200 a month for Hormone Replacement Therapy which is not covered by any insurance either, private, government or otherwise.

stexan maybe you need to actually try to get yourself educated about transgender issues before you open mouth and insert foot again.

Anecdotal at best.

Yes, we must stop those Canadians from sneaking across the border for medical care !

So THAT'S the reason so many people are coming in from Mexico; and I thought it was to work. Thanks for the truthiness.

EastRowanDad, you know nothing about this sadly. Did you know one of the largest growing industries in the US is Medical Vacations? Tens of thousands of US Citizens are flying to other countries like india, brazil, argentina, thailand, etc. to get surgery from cosmetic to major life threating conditions because IT'S TO EXPENSIVE in the US and even with insurance coverage it is much cheaper to get it done overseas and many of the hospitals in those countries rival or are better than most hospitals in the US.

We DON'T have the best medical care in the world just the most expensive that tends to kill more people off because they can't afford treatment.

The surgery cost in the US right now is 18K and insurance in some states cover it.

Actually only one state covers it in the US and that is California under Medi-Cal and you have to match low income restrictions to get it covered. IE: dirt poor And that may be going away in the future.

New Jersey covers it too. So do some other states as well

Children's rainbow? I believe the rainbow was a promise from God to never flood the Earth again. It is a symbol of His love...and I am choosing to love you, Sara!

Who is mentally ill? The ant doctor, "these people", or prisoners?

I think the rainbow was adopted from Judy Garland's "Over the Rainbow."

She stands as a "gay icon."

So sara, if it was your child that was transgender would you rather see them live thier lives to the fullest the way they feel they were meant to live it? People like you are the reason these poor people turn to suicide. Why do you care what somebody does with thier own body anyways? They're not doing anything to you.

Sara: Actually, most gay people I know (myself included) live pretty regular lives -- just like anybody else. It gets bothersome, however, that every election cycle the Religious Reich starts waving around the BuyBull and declaring that the GLBT community is in league with Satan. That gets really, really old. It also indicates to me that it is the fundamentalist Christians, not the GLBTs, that are generally unhappy. After all, happy, well-adjusted people don't feel the need to collect tens of billions of dollars in order to attack people that aren't actually hurting anyone.

Sara: Actually, the patients are screened intensively to make sure they're NOT mentally ill individuals, and often receive additional help with depression and the other consequences of living in a society full of bigots. People like you.

Satisfaction with their lives AFTER surgery is quite high. And we're not talking about homosexuals here. GAYS people enjoy their equipment, and want to keep it.

And I thought rainbows belonged to leprechauns, not children. ;)

Actually, the Rainbow Coalition used the rainbow to signify unity across all racial and ethnic groups, long before the gay community began using it.

Sara - maybe you need some terminology - Gay is Sexual Orientation dear. Transgender is Gender Identity.

Yes, those poor sick individuals who were people of color just couldn't possibly be educated enough to work out of the fields! I mean really, educate a person of color???!!?!?! Uhm, hello, bias is a terrible thing to have especially out of complete ignorance. Go meet a few individuals who are transgender. Listen to their stories. Hear their voice and let their humanity show you how hateful and disrespectful your comments are.

But then again, it wasn't 300 years ago that people thought the world was flat. We use to burn witches in this country too. What a wonderful free country.

Tired: That's mean of you... suggesting that Sara *think*, and all that. She's got her BuyBull, and that's a substitute for critical thinking, isn't it? ;)

Sara, the only mentally ill people are those that can't deal with other people who are GLBT. They have been corrupted and given their own mental illness by religious leaders, parents and others into thinking GLBT people are mentally ill.

My heart breaks for these people. All people in the alliance of LGBT are brave, but the transgender folks are amazing. We should be supporting them, not criticizing them.

And fundamentalist Christians, would you people just shut up already. Nobody cares. We're all sick of the racket on every subject all the time. Blah blah blah Noah blah blah blah abortion blah blah blah gays blah blah blah. Go find yourself some friends or a hobby or maybe learn how to read so you can understand that fable compendium you call the Bible.

People who think transgenders or anyone who serves them should be institutionalized or imprisoned should get counseling for their issues. You have to have issues to hate a person in such a manner to want them in jail for doing a service to those who need it. Consider this, many of the chemicals in our food (such as phyto- and xenoestrogens) could be responsible for the change that brings about transsexuality. You sound like a blinded Christian who doesn't understand the difference between homosexuality and transsexuality, nor that science proves we are born this way. Blame pharmaceuticals, and biochemical industries for screwing with our food, not doctors who treat us, or transsexuals and homosexuals for simply being what they were made to be.

Does this have anything to do with the term "you can't fix stupid"? ... or can you? Are you saying Obamacare will make dumb people smart if they were born stupid? A lib can defend any position and make it seem like everything that is wrong in the world is society's or God's fault ... they sound dumb as hell as they do it but you have to give them credit.

There you go sounding stupid again stexan. Who is talking about obama but you? Obsess much? Why dont you go to fox news so you can talk with like minded people about your insane fantasies.

If this is the study that I believe it is, it was found that the homosexual scientist responsible for this report was biased and skewed his results.

It's not. There were two separate studies done. The homosexual community is very against the genetics of homosexuality. They want the condition to be considered an act of preference. Homosexuality as genetic is very threatening, because that infers it will be TREATABLE.

all fetuses are conceived as female

I am a firm believer that people are born gay or trans-gendered, however some of your facts are wrong. A fetus already has it's genetic make-up; at conception, the sexless mass of calls is called a zygote, over the next few weeks the zygote is flooded with hormones which produce gonad cells - it is these cells which eventually form either a penis or clitoris. There is a school for thought that all embryo's are female - most scientists are moving away from that theory because it doesn't account for the fact that not all embryos are all XX or XY - they are finding different pairings, etc. It is thought that different hormonal cascades can "make" a gay child but that is only one theory - the fact of the matter is that even the hormonal cascade that takes place for an ultimately straight baby is still mostly theory - the only FACT is that people are born gay, straight, transgender and it's not a defect to be gay or transgender - a transgender who is allowed to say "I'm a boy," even if the parts are girl, will feel better about themselves if accepted by society (look at Thailand).

My other point is - did most of you even read the title? We are talking about HUMAN BEINGS who are killing themselves - DYING because of the stress of being ridiculed, unaccepted by family and church, etc. I've said it before, when we lose people, society suffers. Which one could have cured a disease, or been a Nobel Prize winner? We will never know because they were LITERALLY bullied to death by society. They may have taken their own lives but society took their spirit and will to live and that is wrong. You basher's out their ought to be ashamed of yourselves, it is never a good thing when a young person is so mistreated or misunderstood that they have nowhere to go but to their own death!

The Truth Is in Genetics, you do not know what you are talking about. This statement "Homosexuality, the obvious catalyst for transgenderism, has its roots in genetics." is 100% BS. Gender Identity and Homosexually are in no way linked and never have been. The only people who link them are those who know nothing about them. You can be transgender and be attracted to make or female. You can be a Male to Female transgender person and only be attracted to women and not men. In fact you will find it pretty evenly split between them.

Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation are NEVER linked.

stexan, you prove "you can't fix stupid" every time you post.

Jesus doesn't really have a place in modern Christianity. The church of today mostly follows Leviticus and Paul (the latter being a paid contract-killer in the employ of the Pharisees).

Actually modern Christianity doesn't have a place with Jesus.

Well.. yeah. You said it better than I did. thanks.

Lots of assumption here, thinking that anyone who disagrees with homosexuality must be because they are Christian.

Let's also say that all blacks are criminals too.

It's a pretty good assumption that most Christians hate gays. You don't see Christians trying to keep convicted murderers from getting married. But the spend hundreds of millions of dollars keeping gays from getting married.

Indigo, most of the people I know are christian and most of the people I know don't hate gays, some of them are gay some of them are even gay and christian.

Christianity in the United States gave up following the Word of Christ many, many Decades ago. "Following the Word of Christ" in most churches, especially fundamentalist, is just a quaint anachronism.

Most churches these days follow the words of Paul instead of the words of Jesus. You know, Paul was such a paragon of morality. Just because he was an assassin in the employ of the Pharisees doesn't make him a bad guy, right?

In my opinion, the real freaks are the bigots like you.

Indigo Halo, stop your intolerance towards the opinions of others. You are stinking up my computer monitor with your bigotry and filthy hatred. Thank you.

You are a freak. With the temperament of a Rabid dog and brains of an intoxicated GED graduate you are uniquely qualified to be the most ignorant fool on this board. You actually consider your hatred to be an opinion?

Adherence: I've noticed that Buybull freaks like Mark fulfill the inverse ratio between mouth movement and brain capacity.

markwonder and Adherence - you seem to be the intolerant ones to me. Did Indigo strike a nerve? You both are in bully territory now calling Indigo names, you must be so proud of ourselves behind your computer screens - I didn't see any hatred coming from Inigo's posts, the Christian church has done nothing but bad from it's inception to now - and since the Church pays no taxes, it can and does spend MILLIONS of it's parishioner's money to lobby against gay marriage, adoption, etc.... Meanwhile, helping pedophiles escape justice - I thought Religious Reich was cute - but fine - the Religious Right is a bunch of hypocrites who like to rain down on others (gay people) so that they can feel better about themselves (adultery, etc). It's people like the two of you who have blood on your hands - your bigoted hate doesn't go unnoticed!

Adherence - I assumed you were speaking to Indigo, if you were instead speaking to the idiot markwonder, I apologize for lumping you two together.

Nope indigo and you didn't strike a nerve. Bigotry and insensitivity are things you have to point out. And indigo was just pointing out yours.

Saying it more often won't make you appear less stupid or less bigoted. Quite the contrary, actually.

There are many bigots out there that believe that a woman should not be able to have sex with her dog when a dog provides better love than any human could ever do.

mark: as usual, yiu homophobes are advocating sex with dogs. Fetish much?

Mark: Why is it that you BuyBull thumpers are always so friggin' interested in having sex with animals? Your kind brings up the topic all the time. How many dogs have you actually had sex with? I thought your BuyBull was against those kinds of shenanigans.

The reason people like Mark Wonder bring up things like sex with animals, multiple wives, sex with relatives, etc is because secretly they WANT to do those things themselves. It just like all these republicans and preachers who rail against how bad homosexuallity is until they get caught doing it. The person complaining the most about it is probably doing it. LOL

The Christians are the ones that spend tens of millions of dollars -- per state -- spreading lies, fear, and hate against the GLBT community. By comparison, the GLBT community seeks legal parity with straights -- nothing more and nothing less. See the difference?

Also, when was the last time you heard about roving packs of homosexual teens beating up straight Christians? NEVER. It doesn't happen. But Christians beat, harass, and and kill gays all the time.

You're comparing apples to oranges here.

You are ridiculous! There is more violence done to women than homosexual people. Obviously, every people group can experience violence. I'm so sick and tired of blame. Blah, blah, blah! Christians are an easy target, so find someone more interesting and appropriate to blame - like thugs on the street perhaps?

Bashing Christians means you pretty much hate a large % of the US. Crazy. YOU stop spreading the lies, fear, and hate.

Whatever. Christians fund more anti-gay hate than anything else.

At least those that bash self-proclaimed 'Christians' make a valid point.

NEVER equate those those who point out the bigotry and hatred of so-called Christians with those so-called Christians. They are to totally separate things.

Oh and for your information around 29 transgender people are killed every month by hate filled bigots who usually wrap themselves in conservative christianity. So Donna you might want to actually check these things out. Most of the people doing the violence will quote something about god not like trans people. So stop ignoring what is REALLY going on around you.

And yet, you took the time to read the article and make your stunningly ignorant post. (And of course you had to reference football just to underscore that you're a "real" man. Methinks thou doth protest too much).

I don't care if you kill yourself either.

Just imagine of all the bigots who hate people for religious reasons all killed themselves how much nicer this would would be.

Maybe you would like to read the 10 or so articles where individuals who were transgender went to hospitals and the hospital staff and security slammed them into the walls. Or maybe you would like to hear about the paramedic that refused to treat the transgender woman on the street and she died.

As far a preachy suicides being blamed on everyone else, maybe you want to consider Chloe Lacey who couldn't take the constant school bullying this year and committed suicide. Or maybe you want to talk about 10 year old Cameron McWilliams that hung himself by his neck in his closet and died in his mothers arms. Would you like to talk about a few more Donna?

I had a nurse jam a need almost all the way through my arm in a blood test who didn't like the fact that I was transgender. She was fired for it, but would you consider that she was violent towards me? Probably your idea of violence isn't mine. Getting injured due to hatred is my definition. But then again, if your husband comes home and knocks you into a wall, maybe we should doubt that too! Learn before you write. It will save you embarrassment in the future.

How ignorant can you be Donna? Just read the comments here and figure it out. You doubt the violence in the doctors office? You think doctors can't be intolerant too? Get a grip. Doctors are just as bad if not worse than the bubba's you meet in country bars. They think their @!$%# don't stink. As far as the reason's for suicide: when everyone thinks they can piss on you and no one will step in to prevent it, how the @!$%# would you feel?

Getting rid of the BuyBull from consideration in secular law would be a good place to start in terms of ending discrimination.

Who forced you to read this article dick weed? Stop whining about your life. You are not normal. You can' even define normal so how do you label yourself normal? Idiot!

Will the ABNORMAL people are those that hate transgender people and those that think transgender people are causing their own problems.

OK, how is having a medical procedure immoral?

Personally, I find people who hope that everyone who is different from them would kill themselves are the ones who are immoral.

markwonder-what a moron and bigot you are. Too bad you haven't committed suicide. What a break that would be for the entire world.

People like Mark are why today's youth are increasingly disinterested in Christianity.

My guess is that Mark is doing the +1 votes on all of his posts. Even most *fundamentalist* Christians don't advocate mass suicide for people they don't like. I guess Mark must consider himself some kind of true "Christian Soldier". More like Christian Taliban.

I really don't think that this world will be a decent, moral place again until that suicide risk is at least 100 per cent.

I surmise that you were born in the Dark Ages when abortion was banned. No mother could be proud of you or the intolerance you stand for!

Mark this would would be a far more moral and decent place if people who feel as you do make their own suicide risk 100%. You own immorality comes out in every post you make.

Everyone who is different than me must die!

Mark, go ***** yourself.

Oh wait, Mark might like that!

Hey, wonder-boy: your prospects for God's forgiveness are dim, at best.

Do you really think anyone would CHOOSE to go through what these people suffer? Have you ever known someone like them, treated them decently, and seen what they're really like?

Nothing in this article surprises me in the least; nor does your attitude. Your kind dominated Germany for a few decades. You'll wind up in the same place they did.

People like Mark obviously never read the words of Jesus. There's "love thy neighbor as thyself". There's "Judge not lest ye be judged". It seems to me that Jesus hung out with the down-and-outs and the social pariahs, not the Pharisees and the "righteous".