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Once Gay

Once gay, always gay?
Is homosexuality a genetic condition in which people has no choice? Are people born gay? Can a homosexual break free of homosexuality? Can one make a distinction between homosexual orientation and homosexual behaviour? These and related questions deserve careful attention. The answers to these questions will help determine the way the gay rights arguments are assessed. For example, if gays are born that way, then it would be hard to argue for legislation that discriminates against something they have no choice over.
First, one must make a distinction between homosexual orientation and behaviour. It is clear that not everyone with a homosexual orientation acts out this orientation. That is, some may have feelings of sexual attraction to another member of the same sex without acting on those feelings. Just as some may have an orientation to other activities, one need not act them out. As one author put it, "The question about choice and homosexuality is often asked the wrong way. It is not so much that one chooses to engage in homosexual acts as it is that one can choose not to. We are all predisposed to some things, and frequently tempted. But we make choices every day not to engage in certain activities, for any number of reasons."
The cause of homosexual orientation is far from known and would appear to be multifactorial. It is apparent that social, psychological and cultural factors are involved as well as the aggressive promotion of homosexuality. In this it is no different from the development of alcoholism. In the case of homosexuality, many studies have noted the influence of weak or absent father figures as an important factor in offspring becoming homosexuals. Whatever the factors associated with the development of homosexuality, in each individual case certain factors will need to be weighted so that treatment can be tailor-made to the individual and his or her needs.
But leaving aside this distinction for a moment, what...