In article <1993Apr16.174605.21907@a.cs.okstate.edu>, kennejs@a.cs.okstate.edu (KENNEDY JAMES SCOT) writes: # Recent studies have shown that the number of men who have # engaged in homosexual activities in the last decade is 2.3% # and the number of men who are exclusively homosexual is 1.1%. # These figures are much less than those that came from earlier # studies that showed that homosexuality among men is a lot # higher. #  # So, what can we deduce from these figures?  Are there a lot # less male homosexuals than there used to be or are men # (perhaps women too) not as honest as they used to be about # there sexuality?  Presumably, the people that were polled in  You mean, in the 1940s, men and women were much more open about their homosexuality than today?  Want to try that one again?  # this survey were assured of their anonymnity so they should # have answered the questions honestly I suppose.  However, it # could be that gays feel so repressed and denigrated by society # that they didn't feel that they could be forthcoming about there # sexuality in something like a survey.  If this true then is it # possible that there is a lot more gays out there than we are led # to believe? #  # Perhaps if Americans were more open about there sexuality---I think # most Americans aren't---then we might discover that there are really # quite a few more people out there who are orientated toward the same # sex---men and women included.  I'd venture a guess that there is a # lot of people out there who have considered having a relationship # with someone of the same sex at some point in there life.  Maybe they # didn't take their longings seriously, but this doesn't make these # longings any less valid.  Therefore, if Americans weren't so # repressed about their sexuality in general---as I believe they may be # ---then we'd see a lot more people "coming out of the closet".  You mean, ignore study after study, so that we can continue to  accept a study (Kinsey's) that is obviously wrong?    # As for myself, I'm a heterosexual and I've never considered having # sex with another man.  That's just the way I am...I could have just # as easily of been gay I suppose.  One of the big debates about # homosexuality is whether or not it's a type of behavior that is # learned or if one is just born that way.  IMHO, the more likely # explanation is that it's some combination of the two.  Based on what, besides your own warm fuzzy feelings?  # Here's something to ponder upon:  have any of you gay-bashers out # there ever considered that homosexuals probably deem their sexual # orientation as being a state of affairs that is just as much an # intrinsic and "natural" part of their life as heterosexuals do # about their own sexuality?  In other words, someone who is *truly*  Alcoholics share that feeling, until they hit bottom.  # gay may not be able to live any other way.  Even if they date someone # of the opposite sex or get married, in their *heart* they are still a # homosexual.  Likewise, if someone who is *truly* heterosexual forms # a relationship with someone of the same sex, then they are *still* # a heterosexual even though outward appearances may suggest otherwise. #  # Scott Kennedy,  Brewer and Patriot  Unless, of course, the problem is that homosexuality is a form of mental disorder, caused by childhood sexual abuse, as a number of recent works suggest.  If homosexuals would stop using the government to impose their morality on others (antidiscrimination laws) and leave our children alone, I wouldn't care in the least what they did in private.  But until they get over the liberal notion that the proper role of  government is to tell peaceful people how to live, I have no choice but to continue to point out that homosexuality is not an "alternative lifestyle," but a sickness.  # Before:  "David Koresh is a cheap thug who interprets #           the Bible through the barrel of a gun..."  --ATF spokesman # After:   "[The ATF] is a cheap thug who interprets #           [the Constitution] through the barrel of a gun..."  --Me   Good signature!