Alright, show me the "gay" gene. Show me the "murderer" gene. Show me the "food preference" gene.
Nobody is born gay. And if you think people are born gay, and you believe in the theory of evolution, then you have to admit that it is a negative mutation on an allele with an abnormally high mutation rate. Gays don't have kids so they don't pass the gene on to further generations, so if there is a "gay" gene then it must be formed by mutation every generation.
There's no evidence for any of that, so "born gay" has got to be nonsense. It's an outrageous claim that must be proven by genetic scientists.
Either you believe in free will and agree that "born gay" is bogus--people choose who they mate with--or you believe in determinism and believe that "born gay" is God's Will.
If you believe evolution is correct, then how does this "gay" gene continue to get passed on generation after generation?
By that logic, no one should be born infertile, because an infertile person could never pass on their genes.
except mutations happen, and genetic inheritance doesn't happen by dominance only.
2 people with non genetic illness can give birth to one person with a genetic illness because of recessive genes.
Likewise, the fact that people are born with a "gay gene" if there is such a thing, does not mean that their parents had to be gay.
and of course, as Rillion pointed out, you don't have to be attracted to someone to have sex with them. Plenty of people have sex for plenty reasons, not all of them are because of sexual attraction.
Also in terms of whether there is a gene that causes homosexuality, its irrelevant.
Whether someone is "born" gay or not, doesn't mean that you can choose your sexual preferences.
I think they can probably be shaped by experiences, and the fact homosexuality is common in animals backs up a biological basis, but I haven't heard of a single case where someone has though "I'm going to decide to be attracted to men now", and they have gone from total heterosexuality to total homosexuality.
Confusing will with preference is just plain dumb.
Just because you can want to change a preference doesn't mean you can.
Either you believe in free will and agree that "born gay" is bogus--people choose who they mate with--or you believe in determinism and believe that "born gay" is God's Will.
Ignoring the false dichotomy, you're confusing sexual preference with free will.
Of course people choose who they mate with, whether they choose who they decide to be attracted to is another thing, and I think its pretty obviously not a thing of conscious choice.
When I see people I am an attracted to, it is an instant, instinctive thing, primarily based on appearance.
Being "born" gay, is kind of an erroneous statement. Any sexual attraction is based on biology. Men can't spring a boner without a certain selection of hormones and neurotransmitters, and as far as I know people don't have conscious control over these hormones (besides thinking of arousing thoughts). However this doesn't mean you have to have a "gay" gene.
Your biology is shaped by your environment from day one, and just as the fact that I don't like the taste of beetroot is likely a combination of my genetic biology, and that which has formed by environment, sexuality is probably the same thing.