Lets talk about cause and effect. Focus on the Family says that LGBTQ teens are more likely to be depressed because they are LGBT and/or Q. If only they would be straight and stop sinning they’d be happier.
Rational people don’t blame the victims. The increased bullying from classmates, lack of acceptance and support from family and other social networks like churches or boy scouts leads to increased depression and thus increased risky behavior. What FoF doesn’t get is that it’s not as if LGBTQ teens signed up for the queer club. They didn’t volunteer to be different, to be shunned or beaten or to have to hear all sorts of lies about themselves spread by hate groups on national tv, or in the halls of schools.
So the facts are, they are LGBTQ. They face significant increases in societal pressures and stigma. They drink more and engage in riskier behaviors. Why someone blames the drinking on the identity and not the stigma says more about their internal biases than anything.
Rambling on, but short version is that FoF are assholes. And teens, it gets better. And you get stronger.
(PG)^2 