[Dan in Pasadena]

Markus, You probably hit a live wire with this topic!

My "take" on homosexuality? The existence of such an orientation was NEVER discussed in my home when I was a child, but then neither was ANYthing sexual. I later learned "in the street" what everyone learned: "Homo's" or "queers" are after little boys, "I'd knock-him-on-his-ass", etc. All that bull.

In highschool there was a teacher that today you would describe as obviously gay. He was effeminate (sic?) but a nice man and an effective teacher. One day two football jocks entered his classroom during an off class hour and beat the hell out of him! It (of course) was big thing. This was 1970 or so. The boys were prosecuted. An outpouring of concern for the teacher; he came back to school with a black eye and stitched lip, etc. It got me thinking and I realized I'd had at least 2 or 3 gay teachers and none of them had ever conducted themselves in an unprofessional way. I remember thinking, "Why would anyone WANT to be that way?". It took me years to come to the obvious answer: No one CHOOSES their sexual orientation, it is OEM. I don't know if its genetic or not. I'm not smart enough to figure that out.

Sometimes, (as a heterosexual man in a committed relationship) I see a woman that is SO friggin attractive I literally can't take my eyes off her... actually stirs me just from looking at her. For the life of me I can't imagine ever having that response to seeing a man. I'm comfortable with my masculinity enough to say there are some very good looking men around, kudos to them - winners of the genepool jackpot.

No problem with them adopting. Better a child be wanted and in a loving home than in the alternative or an orphange. Marriage? I don't know. To me it is essentially a contract and I have no problem with them making that same contract. What you "believe" marriage is, is only pertinent to YOU, otherwise what you believe is irrelevant. Before the law, it is a contract. And it is certainly not an irrivocable contract - ask me how I know!