TRIGGER WARNING! HOMOPHOBIA RELATING TO RELIGION

My father's denouncement of me rang through the room, even though neither of us spoke. I was stunned into my silence, while my father seemed to be waiting in the hopes that what he said would sink in.

By being myself, I was not my father's son.

"You have a choice," my father went on. His voice wasn't angry anymore, but still firm. "You can give up being gay, and become a member of our family again--"

"I am a member of our family now!" I shouted, standing. "I'm your son. My sexuality shouldn't change that!"

"But it does." My father stood too. "By choosing to be a homosexual, you're denouncing God. And if you're denouncing God, there is no room for you in our family."

"I didn't choose this!" I was filled with an emotion I couldn't name, a mix of anger, frustration, and panic.

"You choose to accept your sins instead of ignoring them." My father headed to the door. "And until you do otherwise, you are no son of mine."

With those final words, my father left my apartment.

And my life.

Art by HuckleFred