"More gay and bisexual teens expelled and jailed"

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B50WF20101206?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+reuters/healthNews+(News+/+US+/+Health+News)

""We're seeing that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are more likely to be expelled from school, or stopped by the police or whatever sanction we're looking at," researcher Kathryn Himmelstein told Reuters Health.

"Specifically, they found that when all teens committed the same amount of bad behavior, those with a history of homosexual feelings or relationships were between 30 and 50 percent more likely to be stopped by the police, 40 percent more likely to be convicted of a crime as adults and more likely to be expelled from school.

"Teens who self-identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual were also more likely to be arrested and convicted of a crime as juveniles."

Note that the research compares the "same amount of bad behavior" so an explanation that gay and b-sexual teens exhibit more bad behavior to account for the higher percentage of punishment is in error.

""Lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are being singled out for punishment and there needs to be intentional steps taken to address this disparity," Himmelstein said in an interview. For instance, adults who mete out punishments should receive training in the needs and challenges of non-heterosexual youth, she suggested. "It may not even be intentional on the part of the people making these decisions.""

""Authority figures ill-at-ease with homosexuality may feel that the non-exclusively heterosexual youth's transgression may be more indicative of the youth being 'out of control' since they consider that his/her sexuality is also a transgression," Igartua said in an e-mail. "In this case, they may feel that more sanctions are needed to attempt to steer the youth 'back' to more 'normal' behaviors.""

Looks as if "gay" is the new "black". Pardon my frankness.