Replies to '06/06 "I'm Gay, OK?"'

getting out the soap box 

What I do not get is the fact that most if not all of the posts on this board are combining religious belief and sexual orientation in the same breath. Has any of you considered that the two are separate and should always be considered as such.  I also can not believe that any have also thought that differing sexual orientations have existed since BEFORE the beginnings of the current Christian belief system. Was being gay a sin in 345BC in Greece? 

Frankly all of this talk about this or that Sin is just masking the more central issue that this board was created to discuss, that of sexual orientation and a society that is finally becoming more welcome and opening for all of the members of the one and only human race. Sexual orientation is just one more facet of a person, just like their hair colour and general appearance.  

Now then, lets get down to the REAL issue. Should a persons sexual orientation effect how people treat them? No! We all entitled to proper respect since down on the genetic level we are all the same with less than 1-5% difference in our genetic make up. As to the issue if being gay is genetic or environmental, most of the literature is unclear and in fact it is my belief that is mostly genetic and a some environmental effects. Behavior is also something that can be controlled and shaped(Pavlov proved that),  but does that really change the underlying foundation I do not think so. and I think that in the end you do more emotional damage. 

Being a Canadian and a resident of Toronto also gives me a rather different point of view in this discussion. Toronto has a population of 2.5 million people and is the home for approximately 160 differing cultures of the world and almost the same number of different languages. As Canada's largest city it has all of the differing religious groups of the world living for the most part in harmony. It is also has one of the largest gay communities in Canada which creates an yearly festival that brings in close to a million visitors and a great deal of money to the local economy. 

All of this raging about sin and Christian belief shows me that Canadians are a much more enlightened group since we long ago learned tolerance and acceptance. I really don't care if you are white, black, Asian or other ethnic group and believe in Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Shinto or any of the other moral belief systems you should give and receive the respect that we all deserve as being human. 

And before you ask, My sexual orientation or religious outlook are None of you business. 

getting off his Canadian Made soap box