Sexual Orientation and the Gift of Nature Chapter

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LGBT sexual orientation: is it genetically formulated?

The discussion surrounding the sexual orientation, especially those considered widely as not the mainstream in many societies like the lesbians, gay, bisexuals and transgender, has drawn mixed reactions and differing perspectives over the years. As a matter of fact, the treatment and consideration of such people under the law has elicited protracted legal suits with ultimate varying decisions being arrived at in different cases and different states. This constant debate on the LGBT has led to a constitutional tussle especially regarding the legalization and recognition of the marriages between the gays and the other groups with the sexual orientations mentioned above. The latest decision of the courts recognizing the gay marriages has significantly reshaped the debate surrounding the gay issue, but despite such rulings, debates and the social and medical researches conducted, there has not been enough evidence and facts to convince the American citizens in general why LGBT should be considered as a normal sexual orientation by either gender and should be embraced by all.

From historical perspective, it was not until 2004 that same sex marriage and w allowed in some states. Before then, it was not permitted in any state and there was no legal recognition of the marriages involving the LGBT group for that matter. It was until the recent times when the Supreme Court ruling on the famed marriage ruling opened up the marriage bracket for the LGBT, but before then, only six states in the U.S.A. treated LGBT marriages as legal were allowed to legally wed. These states were Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and most recently District of Columbia (The PEW Charitable Trusts, 2010). In spite of these advances and steps in matters relating to LGBT from the year 2004, America is still significantly split on the issues regarding LGBT, their marriage and the need to redefine marriage in the entire USA community. The ruling by the Supreme Court in June 2015 that the constitution allows the same-sex couples to marry gave the legal backing of the gay marriage but it id highly doubted whether it gave it the acceptability required within the American society (Ross P., 2015). To prove that there is a low acceptability of this LGBT marriage issue is the fact that until this recent Supreme Court ruling, 30 state still prohibited same sex marriage and some two states allowed just a civil union between couple of same sex, yet another six states allowed same sex couples to register as domestic partners. This is a clear indication that the American population still widely has its reservations about the marriage of the gay couple

Despite the resistance, it is noteworthy that there is a growing push for gay person acceptance and indeed the gay family recognition and allowing such families to adopt children like any other families. The civil society groups that push for such changes and acceptance argue that the LGBT, just like the other families have the natural formation and instincts, hence can care for children, can form a domestic partnership where the couple coexist and support each other emotionally. They are pushing for the redefinition of the concept of family from the traditional union of a male and a female since they believe that their sexual orientation are natural and were born that was hence need to be allowed to form families as well. They believe that families cannot be defined any longer in line of the gender, where two different genders unite but also in line with the sexual orientation where the lesbians, the gay, transgender are allowed to 'naturally' get into a union and form a family. The biggest concern is whether these sexual orientations are natural or are feelings that have got no hormonal composition but personal preferences and individual thinking.

One of the approaches used to justify the fact that LGBT is natural and will not in any way affect the ability of the couple to function well just like the heterosexual marriages is the fact that there is no significant difference between children brought up in the gay marriages as compared to the traditional families. This was concluded from a study which involved 3-year-old children who were adopted among 56 gay and lesbian families since their infancy. When the all round characters and behaviors of these 3-year-old children were studied, it was found that there was no major difference that set them apart from the other children who grew up in the traditional families.

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It was concluded that the parental orientation had no effect on the upbringing of the children at all and hence the gays pressed using this fact that they are capable of being parents naturally like the heterosexual parents. Those in support of the gay couple being allowed to adopt children since they are naturally parents like any other claimed that the children needed a home and that the parenting ability is in no way associated with the sexual orientation hence should be legally allowed to adopt children (Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth & K. Lee Lerner (Eds) 2006). People who are against the allowing of the gay to adopt children however press that the lack of a father figure or and a mother figure in the life a child will most definitely lead to mal adjustment in the life of the child. This is however defeated by the view that most American families hardly consist of a functioning heterosexual marriage any more, since most families have the father and the mother living apart. The LGBT keep insisting that they were born that way and that they are equally capable of taking good care of the children they will adopt.

Theories have also been used in attempt to defend the LGBT issues and acceptance of their sexual orientation and one of these theories is the ethical egoism theory which opines that each individual should act in the interest of self and each person should put their interest first before taking any decision or action. This theory is further divided into three categories; the personal ethical egoism, the individual ethical egoism and the universal ethical egoism (Robert Shaver, 2010). The personal ethical egoism dictates that the person should act from the drive of self-interest and should not consider the position of others before taking an action. This is a stand that the LGBT community has taken in defense of their sexual orientation, they feel it is natural despite what the society out there thinks. The individual ethical egoism dictates that everyone and again tin the interest of me as an individual. And again this is a stand that LGBT has taken since they feel the society at large should support their clamor to have them recognized as natural and not in the interest of the traditional societal orientations. Here, the gay seem to disregard the fact that marriage could as well be institutionalized for the good of the children around, the future generation and the society at large but for their good. The universal ethical egoism is the belief that each person should pursue their own interest solely and exclusively. This is an approach that can be seen among the LGBT community as they pursue what brings them joy and satisfaction and not necessarily in line with traditional definitions of marriage and society. There is an overwhelming belief therefore among the LGBT that their sexual orientation is natural and must be accepted and respected as such by the community at large, both locally and globally.

There are however other traditional perspectives that deconstruct this view by the LGBT. According to David Blankenhorn (2008), marriage is naturally meant for not only company but for propagation of the next generation hence if the marriage cannot support this ideology and founded with such a focus, then the sexual orientation and the marriage is on the wrong premises. Yet another argument is that the LGBT sexual orientations and ultimate marriages deny children the rights to have the knowledge of their biological parents since such relationships rely fully on the adoption of children. The American Jewish Committee (2000) also argues that the purpose of the natural heterosexual relationships and marriages is the availing of the complementary roles that the different genders bring into the relationship, a fact that is missing in the LGBT relationships and marriages, hence cannot be claimed to be natural. The anti-LGBT also argue that it is not true to say that denying the LGBT community recognition is tantamount to denying them their civil rights since the claimed sexual orientation is not a natural endowment that cannot be revoked like belonging to a race and deserving proper treatment for it.

However, what remains clear is that the debate on the contented stand of whether being gay is natural or not still goes on and each side of the divide has its own point to support its argument. There are bound to be more debated on the issue but the fundamental thing.....

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