First of all , homosexuality and being transsexual are very different things . Secondly , neither of them are mental illnesses , and every single medical organization agrees . There are many things that aren ' t ' normal ' that aren ' t mental illnesses . Only about 10 % of the population is left handed and that ' s perfectly acceptable . Homosexuality and transgendered people are the minority of the population , doesn ' t make it an illness . Yeah , the social problems come from bigots like the majority of the Republican Party who scream that these people are less deserving of rights than other people . It ' s been shown that societies that have increased tolerance of LGBT people , the lower the ' social ills ' drug use , suicide rates etc of that community is . In many places in the US still , LGBT people live in fear of being ' outed '. That they ' ll be fired from their job , or be disowned by their parents , or have their college tuition be taken from them .