LETTER: Gay activity could be natural

Editor,

In her letter (Letters, Oct. 20) concerning whether homosexuality could be “inborn” Jeri Lynn Fisher made several mistakes that render her argument unconvincing.

The first mistake is the statement “time has proved that it [homosexuality] is unnatural.” I am not certain what Fisher meant by unnatural, but if she meant that it does not occur in nature then she is simply wrong. A thorough perusal of the behavioral biology literature will verify my point for any skeptics.

The second mistake is in the following, “If homosexual behavior were innately practiced, it would cease to exist by virtue of the inability to procreate. Therefore homosexuality cannot be inborn because these genes cannot get passed on from one generation to the next.” Here Fisher is assuming that genetics is the only thing that determines what is “inborn.” The environment may instead be responsible.

Additionally, Fisher presents an oversimplified view of genetics and natural selection. A large body of research demonstrates that many behaviors have a genetic component, however, our understanding of the particular genetic basis of any complex behavior is extremely poor. It is unlikely that there is a single “homosexuality gene” because most complex behaviors are the result of the interaction of many genes and the environment. Without a complete understanding of the genes involved and the role of these genes in other behaviors it is impossible to make simplistic statements about how we would expect natural selection to act upon them.

Fisher’s arguments simply fail to prove that homosexuality is not “inborn.” I doubt that most homosexuals chose to be homosexual, and the data are not there to reject homosexuality as genetic, environmental or a complex interaction of both genes and environment. Regardless of this, if you vote to ban homosexual marriage, then you are voting to deny a group of people basic rights that the rest of us have. Check your history books for further examples of this type of oppression in the United States before segregation ended and in Germany during the 1930s among others.

Eric O’Neill