Homosexuality

Note: Apologies for the inactivity over the last week or so.  I got hit with a bad cold that left me in bed for two days.

The first of two relevant modern ethical positions I have promised to take on is the topic of homosexuality. Naturally, I can't get to every taboo under the sun.  I have chosen homosexuality and abortion because they are two areas where Western attitudes have shifted from traditional Catholic values, in part due to new scientific information that has become readily available.  I have pointed out that there are ethical ways to judge taboos and logical traps that one can fall into when discussing them.

Starting in 1973, the American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality from its status as a mental disorder.  The main reason for this is that there was found to be no causal link between homosexuality and harmful behavior.  Many scientists have been curious about the cause of homosexuality.  Modern science has concluded that it is caused by a variety of genetic, prenatal, and environmental factors, but, importantly, sexual orientation is most often not a "choice," and attempts to alter one's sexual orientation have proven harmful to the subject.

The taboo against homosexuality is common in human history and has not been exclusively a Western one, but it is true that there are many cultures that have not developed a taboo against sexual orientation.  In our case, the taboo is backed by religion.  From the point of view of Halakha, under the book of Leviticus, lying with another man is "an abomination."  This passage has been interpreted in many ways to mean very specific acts, but as an impartial observer, one cannot help but wonder why it has been given so much attention and remained in observance, while other taboo laws have fallen by the wayside or relaxed (laws about shaving, not being able to eat pork and shellfish, how much you are supposed to get in exchange for selling your sister into a brothel, why you aren't ever supposed to touch "unclean" women, etc.).

Regardless of the history of the taboo, the correct way to look at it is from a modern set of eyes.  If sexual orientation is not a choice, then is it not wholly unethical to deprive a percentage of the population some rights to property, survivorship, citizenship, etc., based on some factor that is outside of their agency?  If it is not harmful behavior, then is there some reason for it to be denigrated or shunned?  I have found no argument in support of keeping the taboo that does not appeal to tradition, religion, or fear.