If you didn’t jump on the Disney boycott in March when Franklin Graham told people that they should boycott because the live version of Beauty and the Beast had a gay character, or back in 1997 when Southern Baptists called for a Disney boycott because of Disney’s pro-gay policies, then Franklin Graham and others like One Million Moms, are calling people to join another boycott.

The Disney Channel has a highly popular show called Andi Mack, and in a recent episode, one of the main characters came out to his friends. 

In a statement by the Disney Channel, “Andi Mack is a story about ‘tweens’ figuring out who they are. [Creator] Terri Minsky, the cast and everyone involved in the show takes great care in ensuring that it’s appropriate for all audiences and sends a powerful message about inclusion and respect for humanity.”

This move by Disney has caused an uproar- because how dare Disney show that people will still be your friend if you are homosexual!

So most boycotts I’ve seen by Christians are pretty laughable. Boycott Starbucks because they make a red cup instead of the Christian symbols of Christmas holly, or gloves or sleds. Boycott Hamilton because the actors told Mike Pence what they wanted to see from the current presidency… Wait, that was a boycott called by #45. Never mind.

Did you know that LGB youth seriously contemplate suicide at almost three times the rate of heterosexual youth, and they are almost five times as likely to have attempted suicide compared to heterosexual youth? LGB youth who come from highly rejecting families are 8.4 times as likely to have attempted suicide as LGB peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection. These facts and others can be found on The Trevor Project site. This site is focused on saving the lives of young LGBTQ kids.

It saddens me that we would even need a site like this, but the truth is that the lack of love shown toward this community of people by their own families and churches drive many to suicidal thoughts and actions every day!

Why do we need to acknowledge television characters who lead different lives than you may deem socially or religiously acceptable? I know several people who are LGBT personally. The stories they have told me about how they have been treated by so-called Christians have led me to the conclusion that attitudes from those of Graham and others are driving young people to commit suicide. Right now in Utah, there are numerous LDS young people taking their lives, and people who knew them confirming that they were LGBT, but their obituaries do not mention it.

Even if you believe homosexuality is a sin, I think Christians do a major disservice to young people when they teach them that LGBTQ people do not deserve to live as every other person on this earth.