How Many Gay People Must God Create Before We Accept God Wants Them Around?
This is from Minnesota State Rep. Steve Hopkins (DFL), speaking against a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. And Rep. Simon also says -- and it needs to be said -- that the children and grandchildren of those who vote for this amendment will "justifiably" be ashamed of it.
I'm assuming Mark didn't watch the video (where Rep. Simon stipulates the assumption that homosexuality is inborn -- differentiating it from bigots, bike thieves, etc.).
Of course, obviously God is perfectly capable of providing people with in-born traits that He nonetheless disapproves of. It's kind of twisted, but whatever. But I think a considerably simpler explanation for the presence of inborn homosexual attraction is simply that it is morally neutral. The innateness of the trait is burden-shifting.
I agree with Lockheed that it's not good logic. Genetics research is indicating that lots of traits are "inborn" -- that doesn't make them morally neutral. A tendency toward addiction, particularly alcoholism, seems likely to be inborn. That's a reason to be empathetic toward people suffering from alcoholism, but it doesn't make the disease morally neutral; it's still better *not* to be an alcoholic than to be one. Pedophilia may be an inborn trait, and thankfully some people with that trait are decent enough to resist it.
Homosexual attraction is morally neutral because we generally shouldn't draw any moral distinctions between men and women. I am not morally superior to David because I find men attractive any more than he's morally superior to me because he finds women attractive. This is part of why all feminists ought to support sexual orientation and marriage equality. In contrast, there are very good reasons to draw distinctions between children and adults, no matter how inborn pedophiliac attraction may be.
How Many X Must God Create Before We Accept God Wants Them Around?
ReplyDeleteNot really great logic, eh?
I'm assuming Mark didn't watch the video (where Rep. Simon stipulates the assumption that homosexuality is inborn -- differentiating it from bigots, bike thieves, etc.).
ReplyDeleteOf course, obviously God is perfectly capable of providing people with in-born traits that He nonetheless disapproves of. It's kind of twisted, but whatever. But I think a considerably simpler explanation for the presence of inborn homosexual attraction is simply that it is morally neutral. The innateness of the trait is burden-shifting.
I agree with Lockheed that it's not good logic. Genetics research is indicating that lots of traits are "inborn" -- that doesn't make them morally neutral. A tendency toward addiction, particularly alcoholism, seems likely to be inborn. That's a reason to be empathetic toward people suffering from alcoholism, but it doesn't make the disease morally neutral; it's still better *not* to be an alcoholic than to be one. Pedophilia may be an inborn trait, and thankfully some people with that trait are decent enough to resist it.
ReplyDeleteHomosexual attraction is morally neutral because we generally shouldn't draw any moral distinctions between men and women. I am not morally superior to David because I find men attractive any more than he's morally superior to me because he finds women attractive. This is part of why all feminists ought to support sexual orientation and marriage equality. In contrast, there are very good reasons to draw distinctions between children and adults, no matter how inborn pedophiliac attraction may be.