DEAR ABBY: I'm a 16-year-old girl, and I've been struggling a little bit. My family is super-Christian. They believe that members of the LGBTQ community are sinful because of who they are. I do not agree.

I have a small group of friends. Two of them have come out to me as bi and gender-fluid. When my family talks about gay people, they say horrible things. I want to tell them what they are saying is wrong and that the mean comments they make apply to my friends, but I'm afraid to give them my opinion. I'm unsure whether I should say anything at all. Can you help me? -- KEEPING QUIET IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR KEEPING QUIET: You are free to think the way you do, and to support your friends. However, you are not likely to change the way your parents feel on this subject. Your friends have come out to you, but not to your parents. If you out them to your parents, they may forbid you from seeing those friends. In two years, you will be 18, legally an adult and more able to express your thoughts with fewer negative ramifications. If I were you, I'd wait.

DEAR ABBY: My husband was annoyed and upset by a cricket in the house. He had used insect spray, but it was still chirping, so he asked me to take care of it. I told him I didn't know how to get rid of a cricket, since we didn't know where it was exactly. He was banging around the utility room. I called his name and asked him where he had sprayed -- no answer. I asked again. No response. I then used his full name, and he got upset that I did! He said it was disrespectful and that I was "treating him like a child."

I apologized if I had hurt his feelings, but he's still upset with me because I don't agree it was disrespectful. Am I wrong? Is it disrespectful to use your husband's full name when trying to get his attention? -- SAD IN NEVADA

DEAR SAD: It's not disrespectful if you can't get him to respond any other way. I don't know what your husband's relationship was with his mother. Perhaps she used his full name when he ignored her as he did to you when he was "playing cricket." The next time he tells you to take care of something you can't handle, pick up the phone and hire a professional. That way you won't have to inconvenience your husband.

DEAR ABBY: The owner of a store I shop at every week, who I believe is in her 40s, recently posted on her Facebook page that she was having a sale because it was her birthday. I thought it was greedy and inappropriate, as I was always taught that it's a breach of etiquette to announce that it's your birthday, especially as an adult. Am I right? Or am I reading too much into this? -- BOTHERED IN THE EAST

DEAR BOTHERED: You are reading too much into this. There is nothing wrong about people revealing that it's their birthday. It doesn't obligate anyone to fork over anything more than their good wishes. If you decide to shop the sale, all you have to do is say, "How nice! I hope you are enjoying your special day."

DEAR ABBY: I am a 41-year-old divorced woman. My two grown children live with their dad. I have been in a relationship with "Sir Talks-a-Lot" for 16 months. I feel like I love him, but I'm having lots of doubts. When I don't see him, it doesn't bother me. If I made a pros-and-cons list, there would be more cons than pros.

And he talks nonstop -- about anything and everything. If he's not texting me, he's calling me. We don't go on real dates; all we do is hang out or go out to grab a bite. He contradicts himself often, and if we argue, he is always the victim. He talks a good game, but I feel like it's all talk. I have gotten flowers once in 16 months, and no holiday or birthday gifts. But his talk game is so good that I feel guilty for thinking about breaking things off. Is it me? Or am I just feeling suffocated? Please give me some advice. -- CONFUSED IN THE WITCH CITY

DEAR CONFUSED: It's not you, and stop feeling guilty. When someone's actions don't mirror what they say, it is a big red flag. You are being overdosed with "smother love," which is really less about you and more about Sir Talks-a-Lot's insecurity. He can't let you have your space because he's afraid that if he does, you will escape. It is important that you listen to your intuition, because it's sending you an important message.

DEAR ABBY: There are several bad habits my husband has, but the one that frightens me the most involves our 2-year-old son. I'm afraid to leave them alone when we are out shopping. I have walked up on them a few times and noticed my husband reading or looking at stuff with his back to the buggy while our son is in it. When I tell him it scares me, he says I'm overreacting. I'm worried someone will steal our son. He always says, "He's within arm's reach. No one is going to run away with him before I have the chance to stop them."

Abby, this kind of crime has happened before. I have seen it in the news. My husband is no superhero. Am I wrong to think he should keep the buggy in front of him at all times when our son is in it? He shouldn't let our 2-year-old walk up the aisles unattended either. Or am I wrong? -- LAURA IN OHIO

DEAR LAURA: You are not wrong to want to err on the side of safety. If it would put your mind at ease, your husband should accommodate your request. Toddlers should not wander unattended in the aisles either, not only because of the danger of kidnapping, but also the possibility of an accident.

DEAR ABBY: I don't trust the woman I'm with. She flirts with other guys and says disrespectful things about me when she talks to other people. We are also not on the same page sexually. I feel obligated to her because we have been together for 15 years. I don't want counseling. What should I do? -- NOT ON THE SAME PAGE

DEAR NOT ON THE SAME PAGE: What you should do is tell your longtime girlfriend exactly what you have told me and end the relationship. If you do, you will be doing both of you a favor. Trust me.

DEAR ABBY: My 24-year-old son is in rehab for the second time. We paid for the first, but we are not financing this one. He has moved in and out of our home since he was 18. We have tried written agreements, but he doesn't follow them. We let him move back in after his first stay in rehab, despite the fact that he had stolen from us and had failed to get a job, etc. He not only didn't get a job, he also didn't help around the house or do any of the other things he had promised. One month later, he began using again.

He claims to be taking rehab seriously this time, and wants to move back in with us when he gets out. He says he now realizes he can't stay clean without following the 12 steps, including acknowledging a higher power, and without the support of his family. Over the past year, we spent several thousand dollars helping him solve his problems. Our question is, will we be enabling him by letting him return home, or would it be best to help him transition to a halfway house? -- SUPPORTIVE PARENTS

DEAR SUPPORTIVE PARENTS: You are caring parents, and I know this has been painful for you. Do not allow your son to move back in without first discussing it with the people at his rehabilitation center whose business it is to work with addicts. From my perspective, it would be better for your son -- and for you -- to have him pursue his sobriety at a halfway house.

DEAR ABBY: My son is getting married in a few months. I always believed that if my child loved his partner, I would like him or her and be happy for them. Race, religion, sexual orientation, etc., would never have mattered to me.

I found out this week that my future daughter-in-law totally rejects modern medicine. My son is a cystic fibrosis carrier. She refuses to be tested because "no one in her family has ever had CF." Our family can say the same thing, but both of my sons and I are CF carriers.

She plans home-births with her mother as her midwife and believes vaccinations are harmful. My son supports none of this, but plans to marry her anyway. They want to get pregnant right away and eventually have five children. She's only 21, and intelligent, but she has been home-schooled, and her father does not allow internet in their home. I feel her position on medicine is due to not being informed. Her religion does not forbid it. I am heartbroken. Is there anything I can do? -- HEARTBROKEN IN MICHIGAN

DEAR HEARTBROKEN: Not a lot, I'm sorry to say. You could point out to your son that he should insist he and his fiancee have genetic testing done before starting a family, which could avert a tragic and preventable problem. You could print out material from respected sources -- the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation would be among them -- but you cannot force the fiancee to accept it. Other than that, all you can do is cross your fingers and pray the young couple will catch a lucky break in a game of genetic roulette.