No, I would certainly not stop my children from spending a night at a friend's if the parents were gay. As most everyone else has said, it is the people themselves that are the deciding factor, not their sexual preferences.
As for the PDA question, I would not be concerned with that either. First off, if I were letting my child stay there, it would be because I trusted the parents and felt they were good people, capable of making good decisions. I don't think they would do this. A little kiss in passing, or a kiss and/or hug goodbye is fine. No, I would not want to see it go any further than that in front of the kids, and I am sure they too would not want that.
As to how the kids may react...I think if they are young enough, they would not even understand that the parents ARE gay...as one person here said happened to her while growing up. And if they are old enough to understand that they are, and they saw each other kiss or hug, they would likely have the same reaction as they would to seeing their friends straight parents doing the same thing, and that would be something like EWWWWW....GROSS!
Kids are just like that.
I think in most cases, how a child reacts to a situation or people will be an example of how their parents feel in regards to that same situation. If they are raised it is wrong, then to the child, it is. If they are raised it is OK, they will likely accept it easier.
I too have had friends that are gay. When I raised and showed dogs for many years, I was welcomed to stay the weekends in the homes of a couple different pairs...men, and women. They were all very nice, friendly people that made me feel comfortable in their homes. I also had my young daughter there with me staying, and she too accepted everything and was never shocked by anything.
I also have some personal family experience with a gay brother. I always KNEW he was gay while we were growing up even though he never would admit it. And yes, as a rotten younger sister, I would call him names because of it, but it was not meant in the way that I held it against him, only the way a sister would call a brother any other name to make him mad!
He moved to Toronto for awhile, and I know it was to "find himself". He later moved to Vancouver, BC. Both of these cities are well-known for being very heavily populated with gay people. He lived in Vancouver for the rest of his life, where he later died of AIDS.
I KNOW how hard it was for him to find some acceptance. He was so confused and troubled by being who he was, and knowing what was expected of him, that he hit the drug scene for awhile. Thank God, he was able to stop that after he reallized he was loved by many for who he was.
My parents were divorced when I was only 14. My Dad disowned my brother, and never did accept things. Even after my brother died, my Dad still showed no emotion, and I cannot believe how sickening that is for a parent to disown their child, let alone over something like that!
My Mom had a hard time with it too, and she too kind of disowned him for awhile, but I was able to slowly bring her around to seeing that no matter what, he was still her son, still the same child that she so lovingly raised all those years. I talked my brother into coming home to our small town for a visit...he had not been home in years. I am so glad he came. We had such a good vivit, and it was what took my Mom and him to come together again.
He had told me on the phone that he was HIV positive, and he made me promise not to tell my Mom. I was just sick to learn that, and even moreso to know my Mom would not know. I begged him to tell her. We (my Mom, my sister and myself) went out to Vancouver to visit him the Fall before he died. He promised me he would tell my Mom and sister at that time, and sure enough, he did. Thank God for that, because he died the following Spring. I love my brother, and I cannot express strongly enough what a strong person I think he was to have gone through all he did. I witnessed over the years the trials and tribulations he faced fighting against himself with his identity, both while we were growing up, and once he was grown. And then in the end, he wanted to be "alone". He would not allow us to come and help him...to care for him. He would not accept the medical help available to him either, as he had friends that had gone that route, and he saw how they suffered in the long run by prolonging things. He knew what was coming, and accepted it, and in my eyes, he was a very brave person.
Ashley, I am sorry, I know I got way off track here, but I just wanted to share my personal experience of why I feel gay people are just the same as any others. They ARE PEOPLE, and they needed to be treated as PEOPLE, and not treated as "gays"! They can have have huge hearts and are so often hurt so deeply, even (and especially) by the ones they are supposed to be closest to.
OH! Kids were good, however the neighbor kid worries me.
