Homosexual actions are immoral

-- Framework -- There is an important background I will try to establish in this debate in order for the resolution to be more easily affirmed and that is the etiology of homosexuality. The etiology of homosexuality is rooted in moral implications and as such is relevant to this debate. If homosexuality is not innate, environmental factors can be manipulated thus allowing complete freewill over the issue. I will list two arguments in favour of the non-innateness of homosexuality. Childhood Gender non-conformity (GNC) Gender non-conformity (GNC) means that a child does not conform to regular behaviour that the gender typically does. A gender conforming child is friends with the same gender since they typically enjoy the same activities while a gender non-conforming child does not enjoy the activities his gender typically does. GNC is typically caused by a negative parental relationships: Bell et al. comment that, in both boys and girls, a negative relationship with the same-sex parent reduces the desire to identify with that parent. Children with reduced identification are more likely to develop “gender non-conformity” [1] Richard A. Isay writes: The majority of gay men, unlike heterosexual men who come for treatment, report that their fathers were distant during their childhood and that they lacked any attachment to them. Reports vary from “my father was never around, he was too busy with his own job”, to “he was victimized by my mother, who was always the boss in the family”, to that of the abusive, unapproachable father. [2] He also further goes on to say that many men who aren't his patients experience the same things. Empirical studies have shown that GNC is a huge determinant of homosexuality. The majority of homosexuals have felt gender-nonconforming when younger: Empirical support for this analysis comes from the San Francisco study, which found that 71% of the gay men and 70% of the lesbians in the sample had felt different from their same-sex peers during childhood. When asked in what ways they had felt different, they overwhelmingly cited gender-related reasons. [3] Retrospective studies comparing gay and heterosexual men have consistently found that gay men report having experienced greater gender nonconformity as children (Bailey & Zucker,1995). [4] [3] Societal Influences If homosexuality were truly innate, we would see it very difficult to change homosexual practice but we do not. Homosexual behaviour changes fast depending on ever changing cultural norms when it should be constant or extremely rigid to change. This strongly suggests societal influences of homosexuality rather than biological: Miron Baron writes: Some cultures for example, the Assyrian and Graeco-Roman were very tolerant of homosexuality. The behaviour was practised openly and was highly prevalent. Sexual patterns are to some extent a product of society's expectations, but it would be difficult to envisage a change in the prevalence of a genetic trait merely in response to changing cultural norms. [5] C1: Natural Law When the term 'natural' is used it means the proper function for a given being. Natural law dictates morality based on what is natural for beings capable of reason and rationality. I contend that homosexual actions are immoral because they do not correspond with the proper function of the sexual organs being used.One can see the existence of teleology when analyzing the human organs. For example, the function of the stomach is mainly digestion. A stomach digests food because that is it's primary purpose. If a stomach is functioning according to the way it should function we call this a healthy or 'good' stomach. If it is not digesting food properly and functions differently then we say this is a 'bad' stomach. What is good is something that ought to be pursued for that is the very definition of good [6]. From this we can see that the function of a being tells us how it ought to function. However, natural law doesn't apply to beings incapable of rationality but for rational beings.The main purpose of the sexual organs is indeed to procreate because we know that they bring about procreation and their existence is explained by their purpose, conditions used to determine the purpose of a being [7]. Now when we return back to the case of homosexual actions we see that this is immoral because we are freely choosing to commit acts with our organs contrary to the way they are suppose to function. This becomes morally reprehensible and as such is immoral. Jeremy Sugarman writes:The essence of an act and its telos are connected in such a way that an act is a good act of its kind if it attains its proper end or purpose, its telos. In this way, the end or purpose is linked with the good. To know the end is to know the particular excellence that can enable one to attain it with perfection (Guthrie 1971).[8] (pg 78)One example of the application of natural law is in the ethics of medicine. The practice of medicine exists because there is a need to heal, cure, and check various threats to our health. These are the ends of medicine [8] (pg 78-79). Immoral medical practice is that which deviates from the ends of medicine. An example of this would be practicing medicine to maximize wealth instead of the health of the patient. A moral medical practice is one that cures the ill as best as possible (best scientific knowledge, equipment etc). A medical practitioner is thus under a moral obligation to bring about these ends. From this example, we can see a direct casual link between ends and morality, the ends of medicine shape the ethics and the morality of medicine. As Sugarman elucidates:The ethics of medicine arises, therefore, in the nature of medicine, the definition of its ends, and in the possession, by the medical agent, of those traits of character that enable and empower the closest approach possible to those ends. [8] (pg 79)C2: Health Repercussions → Sodomy is responsible for more than half (56%) of all the people in the U.S living with HIV and accounts for 61% of all new infections each year, this is very significant as it immediately indicates a huge problem with men who have sex with men (MSM) [9] [9] → Sodomy facilitates the spread of infections “Anal membranes are easily damaged during sex, facilitating the spread of infection”[10] which explains why the large number of people with HIV are MSM. It follows that homosexual acts are immoral because we freely choose acts which are damaging to are health. → It has been shown that homosexual actions cause mental illnesses. A study of about 1000 children were observed until 21 years of age. Those who labelled as homosexual were at increased risks of various mental illnesses: The study by Fergusson et alfocused on 1007 children from New Zealand who were observed until the age of 21 years. This sample represents 80% of a birth cohort; hence, results are exceedingly unlikely to be owing to unrepresentative sampling or differential dropout. Subjects whom they classified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual were at an increased lifetime risk for suicidal ideation and behavior, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, conduct disorder, and nicotine dependence [11] → Now I realize correlation =/= causation. I contend that prior negative parental relationships (established by the framework) during one's childhood, a crucial time period for cognitive development [12] added on to various infections, and a potential HIV infection is sure to cause mental issues. - - - - - Homosexual actions are immoral because they are contrary to our nature and are associated with physical and mental illnesses that one has control over with the establishment of the framework. The resolution is affirmed. Sources: http://debate.org...