A thought I want to toss out

The nonsense about John "not a good man" Kerry mentioning Mary Cheney in the last debate has apparently cycled out of the news. Despite all the faux outrage from the GOPpers, it just didn't have legs. But before it fades completely, I wanted to raise a thought.

Recall that this arose in response to a question something like "is homosexuality inborn or not." Well, research - including very recent research - has consistently indicated that there is a genetic factor in homosexuality. I know of no research that says it is the factor, but that it is a factor cannot reasonably be denied.

(Not that facts will stop some from trying. Google "homosexuality genetic" and the top sites are a string of conservative Christian sources trying to wrench results out of context and make them say other than they do.)

Perhaps even more to the point, how much of sexual orientation is "nature" and how much is "nurture" is irrelevant. It is still not a "choice," but a central part of who you are. If you're a straight person who thinks otherwise, if you think sexual orientation is just a "choice," try asking yourself how easy it would be for you to "choose" to be gay or lesbian. Why would you imagine the reverse "choice" would be any easier?

But here's the real thought I wanted to raise: Let's just suppose for the sake of argument that gays and lesbians could just "change." That it is "just a lifestyle choice."

So what?

What the hell difference does that make?

It's still nobody's right to judge you, condemn you, discriminate against you, hate you, for the gender of the person you desire and love. Or are we as a society really supposed to declare that we can judge/condemn/discriminate based on private choices that affect no unwilling person? Could we say on the same logic that we could reasonably deny legal rights to people who what, dye their hair? Have tattoos? Read the "wrong" books? (Actually, we do that to some extent, don't we?)

And don't tell me this is "different" because "the Bible says...." I don't care. As much as you might like to imagine to the contrary, this is not a theocracy. The Bible can be a source of moral teachings (think I Corinthians 13) but it is not the law nor should it be. (See The Godless Constitution for more; the Amazon.com link is here; Powells.com only seems to have an earlier edition.)

So frankly the question of can gays and lesbians "change" is wholly and completely irrelevant. And when we argue on that basis, we waste our time and buy into the rightwing fundamentalist argument. Because hatred is wrong. Discrimination is wrong. They should not be tolerated. They must be opposed. Period.