[Flipside]

No, the variations in pigment are mostly born through the blending of genes, they are a whole new design bought about by that blending, like fingerprints, exact eye-shades are pretty much person-unique.

Left Handedness is definitely a question of mental wiring, I'm left handed myself, evidence of this is given by diseases such as Alien Hand Syndrome, that's a 'fault' if you compare it to most people, and yet, after the initial response of 'oh, you're left handed', nobody really cares, it should be the same with homosexuality, but the problem isn't with the person themselves, it's with the people around them.

[Bobboau]

^this
it's not normal in the same sense that left handedness isn't normal,

[General Battuta]

That's an A+ example.

(Ironically, left-handed people were discriminated against in exactly the same way as homosexuals in the Middle Ages. Today, they have higher average incomes.)

[Scotty]

^^^^

Let's have fun with words!  Dexter is the Greek word for "right" as in the direction, sinister is the word for "left."  Being left handed was bad back then, hence the word "sinister." Also note "ambidextrous" as opposed to "ambisinistrous."

[iamzack]

ambisinidextrous!

[redsniper]

It's as simple as that.

No. The workings of the human brain are far more complex than the design of any automobile.

[TrashMan]

Quite right! And homosexuality is part of the design.

Sez you. And I disagree. Nothing more to be said really.

[Turambar]

Quite right! And homosexuality is part of the design.

Sez you. And I disagree. Nothing more to be said really.

Well we have scientific evidence and evidence of it occurring naturally in many species of animal on one hand

And we have Trashman's 1800 year old book on the other hand.

What a tough choice. *rolls eyes*

[General Battuta]

Quite right! And homosexuality is part of the design.

Sez you. And I disagree. Nothing more to be said really.

It occurs in thousands of species, including entire species which are completely bisexual. Some of them are our closest relatives.

You have been disproven.

[MP-Ryan]

Quite right! And homosexuality is part of the design.

Sez you. And I disagree. Nothing more to be said really.

I love the Ostrich approach to debate.  Comfortable with your head in the sand?  I always figured it would chafe the ear canals.  I digress...

Latest evidence shows that sexual orientation and sexual identity are two entirely different phenomena  Sexual identity we know is at least partially controlled by hormone dosage in the womb.  Despite the fetal DNA, exposure to a high androgen:estrogen ratio results in a brain that is physiologically male; a high estrogen:androgen ratio results in a brain that is physiologically female - and all this is independent of your chromosome configuration (though is probably still genetically controlled and a result of translocation/recombination in particular cell lineages or endocrine wiring gone awry).  Your primary and secondary sexual characteristics (penis, vagina, breasts, hair, Adam's apple, hip shape, ovaries, testicles, etc) are controlled by a very specific set of genes on the X and Y chromosomes that interact to produce a male - the default is female, and occurs when either a Y chromosome isn't present or the gene that sets the cascade in motion from the Y chromosome is non-functional (which results in Turner Syndrome, usually).

Sexual orientation is an entirely different kettle of fish.  While there has been a great deal of speculation that it is genetically controlled, it looks very much like its an interaction at multiple loci that produces some of the effects... but we're never going to find the "gay gene."  Ain't.  Happening.  Sexual attraction is a complex beast that appears to be a combination of at least partially heritable genetic traits, neurochemistry, neurophysiology, and psychology.  It's fairly commonly accepted in abnormal psychology that no two people have exactly the same set of sexual attraction cues - some people have cues that go awry, which generates fetishes (largely learned in early childhood development, near as we can tell).  However, that doesn't exactly apply to gender, considering there are basically five types of gendered attraction:
1.  Attraction to women.
2.  Attraction to men.
3.  Attraction to women and men.
4.  No sexual attraction (asexual).
5.  Attraction to the majority of individuals identifying as one gender but some individuals identifying as another.

And none of those correlate strongly to sexual identity (meaning whether one thinks they are male/female/other) or primary sexual characteristics (whether one has penis and testicles or vagina and ovaries), or even genetic sexual identity (whether one has a an X:Y ratio of 1:1, 2:0, or something else).

Given that nowhere in all this does anyone have any meaningful choice in the matter, homosexuality and transgendered identity can be considered nothing BUT natural.

[Flipside]

That's an A+ example.

(Ironically, left-handed people were discriminated against in exactly the same way as homosexuals in the Middle Ages. Today, they have higher average incomes.)

I can tell you from personal experience that, at least in the UK, there were teachers who forced left-handed pupils to write with the other hand because left-handedness was 'a choice' and if we tried hard enough with the 'correct' hand, we'd be just as good, less than 30 years ago

Funny thing is, in truth, writing is about the only thing I'm left handed for, I throw, use scissors and use a Mouse all with my right hand.

[iamzack]

I used my left hand more as a child but my mum heavily encouraged right hand usage. I prolly wasn't a lefty, but I might have ended up ambi.

[Commander Zane]

I'm supposed to be dominiant on my left eye but I'm dominant on my right hand.

[TrashMan]

It occurs in thousands of species

So does cancer.

You have been disproven.

Heh..hardly.

And we have Trashman's 1800 year old book on the other hand.

What book? The Bible? What makes you think that has anything to do with the Bible. It doesn't.

[Janos]

It occurs in thousands of species

So does cancer.

this

this right here

this is what we mean when we talk of revolting discussion tactics

[Commander Zane]

So does death.

[General Battuta]

*ostrich*

Go read MP-Ryan's post, then sit in a corner.

[MP-Ryan]

I'm supposed to be dominiant on my left eye but I'm dominant on my right hand.

That's not uncommon.  Different areas of the brain control hand and eye preference.  If you were left-handed and right-footed that would be a little more unusual, but certainly not unheard of.

[MP-Ryan]

It occurs in thousands of species

So does cancer.

And cancer is an extremely common, and normal, development within mammals.  Everyone develops cancer in the course of their lifetime, though not everyone develops tumours or life-threatening conditions as a result.  Cancer may be undesirable from a standpoint of lifespan, but it certainly isn't a condition out of the ordinary.  Our bodies are actually designed with cellular cascades to detect and kill cancers because they are so common, mechanisms which - for the most part - are extremely effective.

[Turambar]

And we have Trashman's 1800 year old book on the other hand.

What book? The Bible? What makes you think that has anything to do with the Bible. It doesn't.

Because when people hate gays as much as you seem to, it's either because they are secretly gay and are afraid of it, or because they've been brought up religious.  There's no rational reason for your beliefs.