Focus on the Homosexuality

On Meet the Press, David Gregory asked U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck about homosexuality, "You don't think it's something that's determined at birth?" Buck answered, "I think that birth has an influence over it, like alcoholism and some other things, but I think that basically, you have a choice."

I address his comment in a recent video on Colorado elections:



Buck quickly clarified his unfortunate comments. The Denver Daily News reports:

...The Hill reported that after the show Buck attempted to clarify his position on his views on gays.

"I said I thought there was some element of predisposition and I thought there was some element of choice," Buck said, according to The Hill. "I'm not a biologist and I haven't studied the issue, but that's my feeling on the issue." The Hill also reported that Buck did not believe that being gay is a disease like alcoholism, nor was he equating alcoholism with being gay -- only that some people are born with a predisposition to be gay, just as some people are born with a predisposition to be an alcoholic.

"I was talking about predisposition," said Buck, according to The Hill. "I wasn't talking about being gay as a disease. I don't think that at all. What I meant was that I think there are a variety of factors."

Notably, the exact same thing that Buck said about homosexuality can also be said of heterosexuality. It is influenced by "a variety of factors," including genes and individual choice.

But, while Buck was trying to downplay his comments, Focus On the Family was trying to out-crazy Buck. The Colorado Springs Gazette reports: "Jeff Johnston, Focus on the Family social policy analyst, said Monday, 'Alcohol affects your whole body, and so does sexual behavior. The highly addictive (aspect of both) is an apt comparison.'"

So now homosexuality is an addiction? Of course, as psychologist Jeffrey Schaler has pointed out, heterosexual sex can also be addictive.

Meanwhile, the rest of us wonder why homosexuality is such a divisive political issue. Some people are gay, and that's fine, so get over it.