Winning the Debate

http://www.alaska.net/~talmadge/debate06.html

June 1997

Why have you chosen to be gay? Why did you choose to be straight? If ever there was a time to answer a question with a question, this is it. Many choose to believe that other people make a decision to be gay or lesbian. It is frequently easier than facing the truth. Some choose to believe that their child has chosen the gay lifestyle as a means to rebel against parents and other authority figures. Others may feel that it is a choice meant to embarrass and shame parents. This type of thinking plays well with religious political extremists as well as poorly informed moderates.

Being lesbian or gay is not a choice for most. To get this idea across try asking why anybody would choose to join a persecuted minority. If being gay is a choice, then I wish someone would explain how the other boys in school knew I was different - and in precisely what way I was different - long before I had learned much of anything about sex. How could they know about a "choice" that wasn't going to be possible for many more years? Let's face it, its genetic and in many these genes are expressed strongly enough to be obvious to even the most casual observer.  Check their WEB site to see the rest of the discussion.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/reviews/queerscience.htm

DO GENES DETERMINE WHETHER WE ARE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, OR STRAIGHT?

Position Paper by The Council for Responsible Genetics

This question has been stirring considerable controversy among lesbians, gays, and  their supporters and friends, as well as among opponents of gay civil rights. In the  debate about the origins of sexual orientation, people have presented a variety of  arguments for possible causes, ranging from genetic predisposition to individual  choices about lifestyle to environmental factors. People's views regarding gay civil  rights do not necessarily indicate which of these possible causes they believe is the  "right" one. The fundamental question remains, however: why are we having this  debate in the first place?

Check their WEB site to see the rest of the discussion.