Common Arguments of the Radical Right
The Radical Right have come up with an entire series of arguments they use to attack gays and lesbians. Some of these arguments are focus-tested works of propaganda that would make Goebbels blush, others are as crude as the taunts of a schoolyard bully. They are all used in an effort to confuse and mislead the Amercan public. This page lists over 50 common right-wing arguments as well as brief resposes.

Overview

Right-wing arguments against homosexuality fall into four rough categories. An specific right wing argument will usually contain elements from several of these broad categories mixed together.

"Ew Ick!"
This category just focuses on how gross those homos are...watch for key words like "abomination", "unnatural", "perverted", "gross", "sick", "diseased" as well as references to specific sexual acts or practices. Most of the anti-AIDS stuff falls here as well.

"It is immoral"
The Bible-thumper category. These argument are focused on what they Bible says (or doesn't say) about homosexuality. If you see references to Leviticus, Romans, or Sodom and Gomorrah, you are here.

"behavior/choice"
This category includes arguments that being gay is a choice (and thus worth of being condemned) or it tries to reduce all aspects of homosexuality down to a matter of specific acts or behaviors. This "behavioral determinism" essentially denies that gays are capable of feelings such as love and reduces everything to lustful actions.

"wierd science"
These argument usually try to use scientific (il)logic to back their cause. Common variants include people who argue that homosexuality cannot be genetic for various reasons, as well as passing along ancient psychiatric opinions and flawed demographic studies, such Paul Cameron's obituary "study."

The arguments

Generic Arguments

Arguments against same-sex marriage Arguments against civil rights laws Arguments against hate crimes legislation Arguments against Domestic Partnership Benefits Miscellaneous Arguments

1. It is unnatural/an "abomination"
So if flying, but you don't see people trying to ban airplanes. Seriously, by definition there is nothing "unnatural" about being gay. Being gay is not "against nature" because gay people are created that way. Homosexuality is seen in all mammalian species as well. Finally, if by "unnatural" you mean "in the minority" then you'd have to say that people with green eyes or red hair are unnatural as well.

2. It is a choice
Yes, I made the choice to become a member of the world's most unpopular minority...I LOVE having my rights denied and getting yelled and threatened with bodily harm at strangers! A person no more "chooses" to be gay then they choose whether to be right or left handed. The only choice is between a closeted life of denial and fear or the strength that comes from telling the truth.

3. It is anti-family
Tell that to my parents, my siblings and my partner. Every gay person is a part of a family. Indeed, the most admirable "family values" are exhibited by groups like PFLAG. The only requirement for a family is love. Gay people who form families by committing their relationships and by adopting children should they choose deserve the same level of social support and recognition as any family.

4. It is a sin/against the Bible
Depending on how you read the Bible, it is also a sin to eat shellfish or wear two different kinds of cloth at once. Anyway, if a person chooses to believe being gay is a sin, there is nothing we can do to stop them...freedom of religion applies to all. However, people may not impose their religious beliefs on others, because along with freedom of belief is separation of church and state.

5. It is an illness
The American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Medical Association have all weighed in on the issue and come to the same conclusion: homosexuality is a neutral human characteristic. TO characterize it as an illness is just incorrect.

6. The only reason homosexuality was declassified as an illness was because of political pressure
Do you claim that "homosexual lobbyists" "infiltrated" not only the ranks of the American Psychiatric Assn, but also those of the American Medical Assn, the National Assn of Social Workers, and the American Psychological Assn, as well as the comparable professional organizations in other countries all of which adopted and continue to maintain similar positions? That they have been controlling all these organizations worldwide for the past 24 years? That they have forced all these organizations to publicly maintain and reaffirm their positions on the issue over the last 24 years? And that they are controlling all the individual health practitioners (doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, etc.) who belong to these organizations; and that these people personally disagree with the stated positions of their respective organizations?

7. Gays spread AIDS
Straights spread syphilis. Heterosexuals also spread AIDS. AIDS is caused by a virus, and the virus does not discriminate. Unsafe sex by anyone will spread the disease.

8. What about Sodom and Gommorrah?
What about them? These are Biblical stories which can be interpreted in many ways. Most scholars agree that the sin of Sodom was inhospitality, not same-sex affection. Besides, America becomes a religious theocracy and your church is Official State Church, your opinion on "Sodom and Gommorrah" is not relevant.

9. Gays are only 1% of the population
So what if they are? Playing "number games" only clouds the issue. Whether gays are 10% or 1% of the population is irrelevant to the issues at hand. Do you suggest that there is some numeric threshold under which a minority is no longer worth of civil rights?

10. Gays are pedophiles
Nope. According the FBI Uniform Crime Report, over 99% of all pedophilia cases are molestations of little girls by older men...heterosexual older men.

11. What about NAMBLA?
What about the KKK? Or Operation Rescue? There are fringe groups all over the American political spectrum, and it is wrong to try to smear a huge group of people based on what a tiny fringe might be talking about.

12. Gays recruit.
"Come...join an unpopular minority today!" Seriously, this argument didn't work 20 years ago and still doesn't work today. The entire theory of recruiting is dependent upon the idea that peoples' sexual orientation can be changes, which it cannot.

13. Gay people can be made straight...I've seen proof
On the 700 Club no doubt. A lucrative cottage industry of brainwashing camps exist to take advantage of self-hating gay people to try to "turn" them straight. The kind of high-intensity psychological torture employed by these facilities makes it not surprising that they have a few "successful" graduates of bisexual men who have been "turned" straight. However, the number of dropouts of these programs is extraordinarily high, and even the original founders of the Exodus Ministry (the biggest name in this kind of thing) have since admitted they were wrong and are both happily living as God intended them, gay.

14. All gays think about is sex; they can't control themselves
Apparently you have never been to a college frat house or the Mardi Gras...it seems like heterosexuals have the same "problem." Seriously, gays think about sex as much as straight people, no more, no less.

15. Gays flaunt themselves
Heterosexuals flaunt themselves. They kiss and hold hands in public. They talk about their wives or girlfriends. They watch TV shows and movies full of heterosexuality. Magazines and book...constant heterosexuality. Ever seen wedding announcements -- constant flaunting...not to mention advertisements, even musical lyrics...just a constant barrage of flaunting "breeders." Now...you were saying?

16. Gays don't live long
And you have a study to prove it. This study was conducted by Paul Cameron, who has since been disbarred from his professional organization for fraudulent and unethical research practices. The study in question was based on the sampling of ages in obituaries in gay newspapers, which was completely non-random sample and an unrepresentative sample size among other things. It was a fraud.

17. God made Adam and Even not Adam and Steve
God made Adam and Eve and Steve. To say otherwise is rank arrogance.

18. Homosexuality is a behavior
This line of argument assumes that somehow people only have their sexuality when they are actively having sex, which is nonsense. A person is homo or hetero -sexual all the time. It is a part of who they are. A celibate person still has a sexuality, as does a virgin.

19. Gays can't reproduce.
First of all, they can, and do. Second of all, it is quite possible for a genetic trait to be passed on even if individuals showing the trait never reproduce. Genes can be recessive, and there is also a genetic characteristic called "penetrance" which works in a similar way to pass on genetic traits without direct decendancy.

20. Legitimation of homosexuality will lead to legitimization of pedophilia, rape, bestiality, etc.
This is a common variation of the "slippery slope argument" and is a logical fallacy. Legitimization of homosexuality has nothing to do with anything else; it is an issue in and of itself. Rape, pedophilia, etc are all violent acts committed without consent upon another being.

21. Ordinary Americans are opposed to homosexuals
Gays ARE ordinary Americans. Constant attempts to paint gays as being some alien presence in America are plain wrong, gay people are as much a part of America as any other group. Survey after survey proves that people who personally know a gay person are much more tolerant individuals, which is why as more and more gay people come out, the overall level of support for gays in AMerica continues to rise.

22. Gays would be OK if they kept it to themselves
Nope, been there, done that. Being forced to be closeted; to deny an essential part of one's self is a recipe for self-hatred, despair, and suicide. Indeed, people who say "stay in the closet" are asking gays to do to themselves what the asking party would never dream of allowing themselves to be subjected to. Such a request is hypocritical and wrong.

23. Homosexuality is contrary to traditional values.
What values were you referring to? The values of respect for others, tolerance of differences, constitutional liberties, individual rights, love, and religious freedom? ...or something else?

24. It will weaken the institution of marriage
Marriage is pretty weak right now. 50% of marriage end in divorce. Allowing gay couples to marry will not weaken the institution, but rather give it new strength. For one, most gay couples will marry out of love, not for the wide variety of bad reasons heterosexuals often get married (unplanned pregnancies, family pressure, etc).

25. Marriage is defined as a man and a woman
Marriage can be "Defined" however one wants. It is all words. 30 years ago, marriage was defined as "one man and one woman of one race." Times change.

26. Gay marriage will violate my religious freedom
No, it will not. This debate is over the civil marriage rights. Your church will not be required to perform any marriage that it doesn't want to. Currently, many religions will not perform mixed-faith weddings, but they are still recognized by the state. Same thing will hold true for same-sex marriages.

27. Some court shouldn't be able to legalize gay marriage when most people are against it
This is a very bad argument. First of all, once the day comes that 51% of people are in favor of same-sex marriage, your argument is moot. Secondly, if civil rights are being violated, a court has to stand up. That is the function of the courts. Majority rule does not allow majorities to trample on the rights of minorities; this is a fundamental American value.

28. Marriage benefits are so people can raise families
Then you support denying infertile heterosexual couples the right to marry? That's what I thought. The purpose of marriage benefits are that there is a social interest is stable relationships between people...this is the "glue" which holds a lot of society together...committed gay couples have every right to the benefits and responsibilities of marriage. Having a child has never been a qualification for marriage.

29. Gays are not denied the right to marry, they just have to marry someone of the opposite sex.
This is a very bad argument. It is similar to saying that elections in Communist China are free because every citizens can vote for whoever they want as long as that person is a Communist. A choice with no real freedom attached is not a free choice.

30. If we open up marriage to same sex couples, why not marry your (dog/sister/car)
Another slippery slope argument, and just as false as all others based on this premise. Marriage is a legal contract. To have a contract, you must have two parties who are capable of consenting to such a contract. Fido cannot consent. Neither can your Buick.

On a deeper level, the slippery slope argument also shows how low right-wingers think of gays. To compare the willingness of two people to enter into a lifelong commitment of love and caring to pets or automobiles is denying the very capability of gay people to express human emotions such as love. In essence, it is an argument which claims gays are sub-human.

31. Marriage is a privilege, not a right.
In Loving v Virginia (1967) the US Supreme Court defined marriage as a fundamental human right. End of story.

32. Society has always operated based on male-female coupling and the nuclear family.
Besides being untrue, this argument also seems to assume that the traditional male-female coupling (and the nuclear family) are the only legitimate ways of living life. Not only does this leave gay couples in the cold, but it also leaves singles, single parents, childless couples, and many other Americans as simply not being a "legitimate" part of America. Period. This is wrong.

33. Gay marriage may lead to gay adoption.
So what? Right now thousands of unwanted kids languish in state homes. Having more stable two-parent households is a very good thing for these children; perhaps they will get the love and parental caring they deserve.

34. Homosexuality is a behavior not a characteristic, therefore it doesn't deserve protection
Even if homosexuality were a behavior, this would not make a difference; religion is a behavior and it is protected under civil rights law. Anyway, homosexuality is not based on any kind of behavior, rather it is a state of being...it is a characteristic which makes up part of the identity of the gay person. To call such an intrinsic trait a "behavior" dehumanizes and in effect says that gay people are not fully human.

35. Gay civil rights will trivialize "real" minorities' rights
This premise is based on the false assumption that there are only a limited amount of rights to go around, and that by extending rights to a new group, we must remove someone elses' rights. fundamentally, this is a ridiculous concept. Civil rights are for everybody, and granting them to a group which has none does nothing to "take away" these rights from anyone else.

36. Gays have not suffered like blacks/other minorities
Face it: all minorities have suffered in some way. While the actual suffering might be different for everyone, the fact is that bigotry and hate are bigotry and hate, no matter who they are aimed at. There is no "suffer-o-meter" that determines who gets civil rights, and setting one minority against another in such fruitless arguments only serves those who want to divide us all.

37. There isn't any real discrimination against gays
This is demonstrably false. Reams of testimony exist and have been presented to Congress and other bodies documenting the extent of prejudice against gays. Real people are fired from their jobs, denied housing, and refused service because of their sexual orientation. It happens every day.

38. Gay civil rights violate my religious freedom
This argument is usually based on the idea that if someone religion forbids homosexuality, then the state granting civil rights to gays somehow threatens their religion. This is untrue; your church may continue preaching and acting however it wishes. What civil rights cover are the PUBLIC and SECULAR arena; they are not intended to cover spiritual affairs. It is ironic that this same argument was used by racist churches int he South when they fought against black civil rights in the 1960s. Their argument was false then, and it is still false today.

39. Gay civil rights will lead to lots of expensive lawsuits
Once again, untrue. There are over 200 gay civil rights laws on the books throughout the United States. If such laws led to expensive suits, you would think this would be apparent by now. However, nothing like this has ever occured. Even in a liberal, lawsuit-happy place like San Francisco, they have never had a problem with lawsuits in the 25 years they have had a gay rights law. The same is true everywhere else such laws have been passed.

40. Gays do not meet the qualifications of a suspect class
This is incorrect. Gays meet the three requirements of a suspect class:

a. Homosexuality is an immutable characteristic: whether set by the genes or very early in life, no one seriously argues that gays choose their orientation. Indeed, all the scientific evidence, as well as all of the real-world experiences of gay people point to the inescapable conclusion that being gay is a fundamental and unchangeable part of who someone is.
b. Gays have traditionally been discriminated against: Persistant and long-standing prejudice and animus towards gays is a common and unremarkable part of American life. Real-world examples of discrimination are common and easily documented.
c. Gays are politically powerless: This can be easily proven as well. Gay officeholders account for less than one tenth of one percent of America's elected officials. There are no gay senators, and only 2 gay congressional members. Gays have only been able to secure their rights in a handful (about 200) political entities.

41. Gay civil rights are a social stamp of approval on homosexuality
Untrue. A civil rights law exists to protect civil liberties. They do not put a stamp of approval on any individual or class, they merely state that it is wrong to harm such people. However, on a broader level, civil rights laws do make the statement that politically, gays are equal citizens of this nation, that they deserve the same God-given rights all Americans do. Period.

42. Gay civil rights will lead to quotas and affirmative action ("I'll be forced to hire gays")
Untrue. Just about every law passed these days has a clause stating that the law cannot be used to require any kind of affirmative action or quota system. It's right there in the text of these laws. Affirmative action is a separate issue from civil rights.

43. Gay civil rights reward criminal behavior (in states with sodomy laws)
Sodomy laws (where they are on the books) prohibit specific sex acts. They say nothing about sexual orientation, which is an entirely separate issue.

44. Gays are asking for "special rights"
No, gays are asking for equal rights. Noticeable in all these laws is that they protect "sexual orientation" -- both gay and straight. No one is getting "special rights" merely the same equal rights that others already enjoy.

45. Gays are wealthy and don't need these protections
According to whom? There have never been any authoritative surveys on the overall wealth of gays and probably never will be (not when so many are closeted). And even if this accusation were true...so what? Is there a wealth thresh-hold where we take away peoples' civil rights if they make too much money?

46. What about gay teachers then?
What about gay garbagemen and gay accountants? Fact is there are and will always be gay teachers. Open ones too. This objection comes from the old theory that a gay teacher might try to "Recruit" children in a classroom, which is crazy. About the only affect of gay teachers on children is that the kids might learn that gays are ordinary people...I suppose for some radical right wingers, this is something to be concerned about!

47. Employment rights laws would lead to gays behaving inappropriately in the workplace
Ah, the old "sex by the water cooler" fear. Once again, unadulterated BS. Anyone of any sexual orientation who brings sex into the workplace should be shown the door. Civil rights laws do not protect behavior, they protect people from being fired because of who they are as people.

48. What about freedom of speech?
What about it? Civil rights laws do not cover speech, they cover behavior. A bigot will still be free to speak out against homosexuals even with civil rights legislation; there is no threat to free speech. What a person cannot do is take the physical action of discriminating against a person because of their sexual orientation.

49. All crimes are "hate crimes," why single any crimes out?
Hate crimes go beyond ordinary crimes by collectively victimizing an entire class of people. If a person is beaten up for their money, they are the victim of a simple assault. Someone who is beaten up because they are gay has had an essential part of their humanity attacked, and as such the emotional trauma is much deeper. The criminal has targeted not only the individual, but all of society as well, and this should be punished severely.

50. Hate crimes laws punish the thoughts of the criminal
No, they punish the actions of the criminal. Thinking about beating someone up because they are gay is not a crime. Beating someone up because they are gay is.

51. Hate crimes laws will end up criminalizing speech
Gain, untrue. Speech is well-protected. You can verbally bash and attack gays all you want...it is when you step over the line into taking direct action that you become a criminal.

52. DP benefits undermine the family
The question needs to be reversed and asked back: "how does a piece of paper or a benefit recognizing two peoples' commitment to each other undermine YOUR family?" Of course, it does not. You family (or marriage) is still as strong (or weak) as it was before DP benefits.

53. DP benefits draw an unwarranted comparison between DPs and married couples
No, they recognize that two people who share the same life commitment as a married couple deserve the same benefits. Right now, same-sex couples do not have the option of marrying. If benefits for unmarried couples still bother you so much, fight for the legalization of gay marriage and there will be no need for DP benefits any more.

54. DP benefits are too expensive
Hundreds of America's biggest corporations have decided to offer DP benefits. These are businesses who do not do anything unless the bottom line works out for them. If they think DP benefits make good economic sense and are not too expensive, then they are right. Who are you to question the business sense of Microsoft?

55. Famous Person X is against Gay Rights
For every "famous person" that you can name as being opposed to gay rights, one can name a dozen who feel the other way. Face it, it is always going to be possible to find one "authority" to back up just about any point a person wants to make. Selective quoting of celebrities, and misguided appeals to authority have no bearing on a debate.