There is much evidence to suggest that homosexuality is a naturally occurring characteristic of the human race (not to mention many of our closest genetic relatives, like chimps, bonobos, and gorillas). Science has known this for quite some time. It occurs in roughly 10 percent of the population, which means it is no more an aberration than having red hair, or being over seven feet tall. Actually, it is much less of an aberration than either of these.

It's time for society to wake up to this fact, and give homosexuals the same considerations, rights and freedoms granted to any other member of society.

I was actually raised as a Christian. Not surprisingly, the environment that I grew up in was somewhat racist, and strongly homophobic. And therefore so was I.

For years I tried to justify these feelings by saying, "I'm not homophobic. I'm not afraid of gays. I just hate them." It took me a long time and a lot of painful soul-searching to realize the truth. The reason I hated them was because I was afraid of them, and the reason I was afraid of them was because I didn't understand them. And I hated having to admit that. Being raised in a Christian, racist, homophobic environment meant that I was also taught to hate to admit being wrong about anything. (Being Christian means nothing if it's not about being convinced of your own moral superiority.) Luckily, I have since gotten over all of these character flaws.

It took me a long time to realize several things. The most important was that gay people aren't doing anything to hurt me in the least. Why should I actively dislike someone who has done nothing to me? Sure, I don't really understand what makes one man attracted to another, but I don't expect that they understand me any better. So what's the big deal?

The only arguments that can be made to defend anti-gay sentiments are by quoting Bible passages. But if you've read some of my other posts, you must know by this time how I feel about the Bible as a source of wisdom and knowledge. And by the way, the Bible is also anti-female, anti-family, and pro-slavery, so that should just about cover the "Bible as meaningful justification" argument.

The only possible danger we face from gays is one of our own making. We force gays to question whether their feelings are "right". We force them to stay in the closet, often even to themselves, for fear of society's reaction to them. The resulting confusion must be nearly intolerable, and it is no wonder why a few misguided souls act out their frustrations in horrible ways. If we'd simply own up to the fact that what they are feeling is perfectly normal and all right, most such incidents could be prevented.

I don't think there would be a higher rate of sex crimes committed by gays than there are committed by heterosexuals. Actually, I think that is the case already. Gays just tend to get more bad press because of society's bias against them.

Some guys get really offended or outraged if a gay man makes a pass at them. Grow up. This is no different than a straight man flirting with or coming on to a woman, and it is harmless. You should simply but pleasantly inform them that they have mistaken your sexual orientation. More often than not, they will be horribly embarrassed and apologize profusely. It's certainly nothing to get upset about. In fact, you ought to feel flattered: at least someone found you attractive