by DM Zwack

Created on: November 03, 2008   Last Updated: January 19, 2009

The most that can be said thus far is there probably exists a genetic component to homosexuality. However, no single "gay gene" or has ever been identified as the cause of homosexual behavior. In short, no one knows for certain if people are born gay or decide to be gay, though perhaps the most likely truth is a combination of genetic, environmental, psychological and social factors. For further details on such matters, one may consult the work of Dr. Dean Hamer, whose research in the early 1990s suggested the possibility of a genetic contribution to homosexuality, and that of Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, an opponent of gay marriage who offers interesting, if not always congenial, commentary on the subject.

To oversimplify, whether or not a person is born gay seems to have become central to the political battles over gay rights. One side states individuals are born gay and can't help it so they therefore should be extended the same rights as everyone else. Another side counters homosexuality is a decision and gays are therefore not entitled to the same rights as everyone else. Clearly, this logic has a series of flaws on both sides, but such flaws are common in public disputes. To outline and explain all the details required for sincere understanding of the issue takes longer and requires more thought and effort than most political activists are prepared to invest, especially since it is likely much of the public will lose interest a quarter of the way through anyway.

The claim that gays are born that way and can't help themselves is problematic in two ways. First, it almost sounds like homosexuality is being described as some kind of disease by its own advocates. Though the following is not the interpretation of every heterosexual sympathetic to gay rights, some might get the idea that they're supposed to feel sympathy for gays not so much because they have often been the target of persecution but because they are afflicted with a malady through no fault or choosing of their own. This is fatuous. Gay should not have to be code for "weak" or "frail" and supporters of gay rights need not pity gay men and women simply because they turned out that way. In addition, some people are born with a propensity for alcoholism, insanity, sociopathic behavior, and any number of other unpleasant conditions. While such at least partially congenital difficulties can sometimes serve as mitigating factors for undesirable behavior, they do not give sufferers carte blanch to do whatever

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