Disney Teaching Children to Embrace LGBT Sexual Lifestyles Has 'Grave Consequences': AFA
The conservative American Family Association says Disney's portrayal of gay characters is dangerous because it influences children and could have "grave and eternal consequences."
"It is not Disney's place to assume the role of parents deciding when to confront children with alternative lifestyles. I'm not saying that it's wrong for children to know that gays and lesbians exist, only that parents should be the ones to tell them. Disney should not circumvent parents on this matter," wrote Ed Vitagliano, AFA executive vice-president.
"It has grave — and perhaps eternal — consequences," he warned later on in the article.
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The AFA reports that some Christian parents have expressed concerns over the inclusion of a "gay moment" in the upcoming live action Disney remake of "Beauty and the Beast."
What is more, Disney also featured a scene with same-sex couples kissing in an episode of the cartoon "Star vs. the Forces of Evil."
"What do children learn by seeing lesbian couples or same-sex kisses or LeFou pining after Gaston? First, of course, they will learn that homosexuals exist. For example, take Disney's 2013 mega-hit 'Frozen,'" Vitagliano positioned.
"If, as the gay community has been demanding, the company decides to give heroine Elsa a girlfriend in it's upcoming sequel rather than a boyfriend, kids will notice. After all, it is a heterosexual world and even little tykes notice when something doesn't fit into that mold," he added.
While some Christians have called for a boycott on "Beauty and the Beast," such as Evangelical preacher the Rev. Franklin Graham, others, like Elliott Gladwin, one of the co-creators of Your Other Brothers — a creative writing project and podcast for Christian men who battle unwanted same-sex attractions, have called such attitudes hypocritical.
"If you are this appalled and disgusted by a fictional character who may suggest a same-sex affinity, then how do you think real life people who struggle with same-sex attraction think you perceive them?" Gladwin said in an interview with The Christian Post last week.
"When asked 'Is homosexuality the worst sin?' most Christians will respond with 'Oh no, of course not, sin is sin,'" he added.
"But by the response to this movie in both word and action, the Christian boycotters are saying loud and clear that homosexuality is the greatest of all sins — greater even than witchcraft and the occult."
Some of the film's stars, such as actor Sir Ian McKellen, have also called the controversy surrounding the film "rubbish."
"People who don't like the idea of gay characters appearing in fairy stories should think what they would think if they were gay themselves and why should they be excluded?" McKellen asked in an interview with CNN on Monday.
He also claimed that the gay moment is nothing "revolutionary."
"I know people who don't like gay people and make a fuss. It's a very small moment in the movie, no one should get too excited," the actor insisted.
Vitagliano said that it's an important issue, however, given that children absorb information easily and take cues from what they watch.
The AFA vice-president also argued that a positive portrayal of homosexuality does not align with the Bible.
"This contrast in views about sexual orientation will create a struggle for the child. Do they believe the Bible and their parents, or Disney? Which one is telling the truth?" he said about the questions children can face.
