Homosexuality is Natural, Right?

In my Squidoo lens on natural law I relate how I often hear from people that homosexuality cannot be against the natural law because it is found among animals in nature.  The lens explains what natural law really means, and it has nothing to do with the animal kingdom (except that human beings are rational animals, but the rational part is key).

Misunderstandings of natural law are common - and it really doesn't matter how educated you are.  Here are some quotes from some very educated scientists.

LiveScience.com - Homosexual Animals Out of the Closet

Homosexuality has been observed in more than 1,500 species, and the phenomenon has been well described for 500 of them," said Petter Bockman, project coordinator of the exhibition.

LiveScience.com - Homosexual Animals Out of the Closet

"Homosexuality" and "heterosexuality" are terms defined by societal boundaries, invisible in the animal kingdom.

LiveScience.com - Homosexual Animals Out of the Closet

The argument that a homosexual way of living cannot be accepted because it is against the "laws of nature" can now be rejected scientifically, said Geir Soli, project leader for the exhibition.

What surprises me, though, is how scientists can be so biased within their own field. We don't really see "homosexuality" in nature. We don't see same-sexed animals coupling off for long-term relationships. What we do see is rampant, out of control animal sex drive seeking sex with whatever will satisfy the urge.

In a sense, the second quotation comes close to the truth.  The beauty of human nature is that while we have many of the same drives and urges as animals, we have the power to control those urges and to imbue our actions with meaning.  While rampant, out-of-control sexuality is accepted in the animal kingdom, it is not acceptable among human beings who have intellects and wills.  However, the second quotation (I suspect it is espousing a modernist philosophy, which believes that all moral norms are social constructs rather than objectively true) misses the objective human nature connection and calls the differences between animal and human sexuality "societal boundaries." 

Homosexuality is objectively disordered in human beings precisely because human have the power to control their attractions, drives and desires and to use sexuality according to the meaning inherent in the act - the creation and nurturing of a family.  This is a law of human nature, not of the "laws of nature."

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