Being gay IS a choice.

There's been a lot of talk in the recent weeks leading to the election next Tuesday about how gay people have a choice about being gay. I'm here to set the record, pardon the pun, straight about that. As a gay man, I believe I am qualified to comment on this particular subject. This may sound as if I am giving credence to those who make the "gay is a choice" argument, but rest assured loyal Hamsters, I am not.

Being gay is a choice. Being homosexual is not. The only choice I have is in deciding whether or not to live my life as who I am. To live a free and open life or one that is constrained and closeted. To accept that part of me that is undeniable and intuitive or to continue a life of self-recrimination and loathing. To realize that being a gay homosexual is not who I am, but one of the many parts that comprise my public and personal selves.

In most people's paradigm, that last sentence contains a redundancy. Gay homosexual? You can be one without the other; as in a homosexual who doesn't identify as being gay, or denies his or her sexuality. There is no comparative phrase for heterosexuals that I can come up with. Straight is heterosexual, hetrerosexual is straight. Some in the gay community might call them "Breeders", but that isn't always the case. Not all heterosexuals procreate, and not all prcocreation comes from  heterosexuals. And, simple biology here, if it weren't for all that procreating, there wouldn't be any homos, either. Both of my parents were, oddly enough, heterosexual. And science has shown that gay/lesbian parents do not necessarily pop out drag queen babies. It's a matter of random chance. My parents, when first confronted with the news of my impending birth, had no idea what they would end up with. It's not like they went shopping at Sears to pick out the baby of choice. I might be a rocket scientist, a rock musician, a rock breaker, or a rock around their necks.

I could also have been a rocket scientist with a rock band that rocked the world, like Tom Scholz of the band Boston. Sadly, that was not the case. (Scholz was actually a mechanical engineering graduate at MIT, but I think the point is still valid).

In concurrance with the social agenda vendors on the right, there is a cure for being gay. It's called a closet. To their chagrin and angst, however, there is no cure for homosexuality. No amount of prayer, denial, or drug abuse can alter that fact, a fact that I can attest to having tried all of those and more. The (un)-Christians like to refer to their older text when arguing against us, which only proves that we've been around for just as long as they have, and are as much a part of the human race as they.

The Right loves homosexuals. It's gay people they hate.

PSA: Porn Makes You Gay

This past weekend saw an event called the Values Voter Summit and it featured most if not all of the potential Republican presidential hopefuls. During this conference, there was a "break out session" which featured Mike Schwartz who is the Chief of Staff to Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) and he had this to say:

"All pornography is homosexual pornography because all pornography turns your sexual drive inwards. Now think about that. And if you, if you tell an 11-year old boy about that, do you think he going to want to go out and get a copy of Playboy? I'm pretty sure he'll lose interest. That's the last thing he wants."

This is absurd on so many levels. Let's start with the question, "Where does an 11-year boy 'go out to' to get a Playboy magazine?" Chances are, he pulled it out from between the matress and box springs of his Dad's bed. Are you the Christian father who wants to try to reconcile that argument with your 11-year old son? "Dad, if reading Playboy makes me gay, are you, too?"

Playboy, along with all adult fare, is not exactly easily obtainable by the pre-teen set except from within the home, or a heathen friend's home. So, then Bobby goes over to Tommy's house to look at Tommy's dad's Playboys and asks Tommy's dad the same question. You think Tommy's Dad might make a call to Bobby's Dad? Probably.

All pornography is homosexual pornography because it turns your sex drive inwards? That would make it monosexuality, wouldn't it? If Playboy makes you want to have sex with yourself, then how does that make you homosexual?

What about lesbians? One could presume that Playboy would, in fact, cause a lesbian-leaning 11-year old girl to strap on a tool belt and start fixing the dishwasher. Applying Mr. Schwartz' logic-deprived theory to this argument, Playgirl would turn little girls into lesbians. Which means that all pornography makes girls homosexual. It's a wonder there are any straight women at all.

Here's some more of what Mr. Schwartz had to say:

"It's been a few years, not that many, since I was closely associated with pre-adolescent boys, boys who are like 10 to 12 years of age." Really? "Closely associated"means what, exactly? I'm going to take a slightly higher road here and assume that you were a Sunday school teacher to that age group and not the scary guy on the corner. He goes on to say, "But it is my observation that boys at that age have less tolerance for homosexuality than just about any other class of people. That's beacause they don't want to be that way. They don't want to fall into it. And that's a good instinct."

Boys at that age are mimicing what they've been told. They have no clear understanding of the question. So, publically and to the adults in the room, they will answer accordingly. Reality is that all children are naturally curious about sex of all types, and are more likely to experiment with different kinds when told it's a bad thing. It's part of human nature. Don't tell me I can't or shouldn't do something and if it's so bad, what about Uncle Larry? Or Father Mike?

No one and nothing has the power to "make someone gay", Mr. Schwartz. Trust me, I wish it did. There are thousands of guys I wish I could convert, even for an hour, to our side. But the truth you so blindly ignore is that this world is comprised of many different types of people who, according to your own faith, are all children of God. And there really is no choice of one's sexuality beyond accepting or rejecting it.

So tell me, if it's okay with God, why isn't it okay with you? I wonder if God appreciates your efforts to usurp his authority.