Melvin Lyman M.D. on Homosexuality

I have to give an oral presentation on conversion therapy which is where a therapist tells a client being homosexual is all about behavior and choice and you can be therapized out of it.

I have to present about the ethical issues behind 'forcing' clients into hetrosexuality. In other words, it is wrong to tell a person it isn't right to be gay or lesbian.

I really don't know where I stand on the issue.

There are studies that "prove" a genetic or physiological component of homosexuality and there are studies that "prove" it is all about behavior.

So I'm figuring it all out. Last night I couldn't sleep for anything. I opened about 12 different books and couldn't really get into any of them. I'm so sick of textbooks.

Then I came across my dad's book, Confessions of a Country Doctor. I lay awake for two more hours reading about adventures in medicine. My Dad was an amazing man. You know the movie It's a Wonderful Life? Well, my dad was the George Bailey of family practice medicine.

Here is what he wrote about homosexuality:

The Big Lie - Justifying Perversion

Homosexuals have made it very clear that by juxtaposing their lifestyle to "civil rights" they expect to gain equality. Their argument goes something as follows, "I was born gay and therefore I cannot be expected to act contrary to my nature. Therefore, when government, the military, or even private individuals or institutions impose restrictions on my basic nature, I am denied a civil right to equal treatment under the law." Our media and others find these arguments persuasive and even fair-minded, bit they are simply not true. The small percentage of people who have the tendency to homosexuality is not one bit different than similar small groups who have tendencies to other perverse activity.

What is Perverse?

Webster's Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language defines "perverted":
1) Changed to or being of an unnatural or abnormal kind; 2) Turned from what is right; wicked; misguided; distorted.
Will Durant wrote a very powerful book, the Lessons of History. In his chapter "Biology and History," he states categorically, "The third biological lesson of history is that life must breed. Nature has no use for organisms, variations, or groups that cannot reproduce abundantly."

By labeling homosexual practice as "perverse" or "Unnatural," we must be fair and quickly remember that it is only one form of perversion. Consider gluttony and kleptomania. Both are innate tendencies which pose particular and, at times, overwhelming problems to the people affected by them, but when acted upon, leave an entirely different effect on society at large. The problem for society comes when a particular form of perverse activity is given moral equivalence to nonperversion. Since we cited it already, let's use kleptomania as an example. If I am caught stealing due to this overwhelming human tendency which I couldn't resist, should I be allowed to whip out my Official Kleptomaniac's Card, show it to the floor walker at the department store and then expect an apology because he collared me adn violated my civil rights? Aren't these all well-known tendencies among the population at large, and couldn't a case be made that each of them might well affect a percentage of the whole equality idea that is currently claimed by the homosexuals?

He goes on. But you get the general idea.

What do you think? I'm forming an opinion. and a powerpoint.