but science may have provided us with a health bonus for breaking the hate!

Hey all you sexual beings out there. Thanks for tuning in the DNews. I'm Trace.

Homosexuality and homophobia is a topic of discussion around many a dinner table in the

United States and elsewhere *cough* Russia *cough* and though many feel they're in the

right on both sides, there's a definite scientific angle to be taken to simply let the battle go.

Science says, homophobia is killing you. Yeah. To a tune of about two and a half years of your life.

A study done in the United States and published in the American Journal of Public Health wanted

to determine "whether individuals who harbor antigay prejudice experience elevated mortality

risk." Turns out, yep. They do. All things controlled for being equal in their study,

people who are prejudiced against the LGBTQ community will die two-and-a-half years earlier

than an equally healthy person of the same age

And sadly the stress isn't only on the bigots,

it spreads to their targets too.

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health completed a separate study which found

bixsexual, gay, and lesbian individuals living in communities with a high level of anti-gay

prejudice had higher mortality as well! They found, when controlling for the normal variables

of a community, people in the sexual minority died 12-years sooner

LGB people living in high-prejudice communities were THREE TIMES more likely to be murdered

than in low-prejudice communities! That's astounding. A key point in their study, was

they assessed the community as a WHOLE rather than the experiences of individuals.

I don't have a research study to cite, but it seems to me it's rarely only the bigot

and their target who are victims of the stress involved. The hate is probably felt by their

families, their neighbors and their friends as well. I wonder what THEIR health effects are...

What do you think of this? Have you ever let go of hate and feel better? Share your experiences

with haters down below in the comments, Your experiences are important. Make sure you subscribe for more,

and we'll see you next time on DNews.