Question of choice in gay behaviour irrelevant

Is homosexuality chosen? Your correspondent (name and address supplied, South China Morning Post, July 22) thinks not in his or her case, and that may apply to five to 10 per cent of the population. In other cases, in private schools, prisons, the navy, it appears heterosexual people may adopt it temporarily or partially.

Your correspondent may have a just cause, but it is irrelevant to argue about the volition involved in gay behaviour.

The real issue is: 'on what basis should society restrain sexual activities?' The rational answer is: 'when activities cause demonstrable harm to the innocent.' For example, when practices transmit disease, causes unwanted pregnancy, or physical damage to an unwilling or juvenile partner.

Unfortunately, it is clear that these harmful aspects of sexuality are increased by laws which render some ostensibly harmless sexual activities illicit and guilt-ridden, and therefore foster ignorance, desperation and irresponsibility. Most of us do not care about others' sexual orientation, except to protect the potential victims of such harm, especially children and women.

However, our fear about the potential risks of uncontrolled sexuality is manipulated by special interest groups who benefit from repressing sexuality. One such is organised religion. Another is government, which often plays upon our fears to justify more power over us. One more group is the self-seekers who sit on censorship bodies even though they apparently cannot tell a sausage from a penis. Homosexuals and prostitutes are victims of hypocritical, irrational sexual laws and mores, but not the only victims.

Parents worry that their teenaged children will become pregnant through ignorance or fear, be at risk from AIDS, or be victims of rape. Wives may be at risk from errant husbands bringing sexual diseases into the home. Concern over paedophilia is natural. But where do these socially undesirable aspects of sex come from? The answer lies largely in a few sexually repressive laws which generate a huge amount of illicit behaviour, guilt and ignorance, which cultivate the problems we wish to avoid. If homosexuals desire to live without persecution, they should quit pleading and instead seek common cause with ordinary families, perhaps forming an organisation to work to replace discriminatory and irrational laws (and social mores) with those conceived to protect people from harm.