chinaHomosexuality is currently illegal in China. Don’t be too surprised, in 2003 two men in Texas were arrested and prosecuted for sodomy until the U.S. Supreme Court declared state sodomy laws unconstitional.
The story involves a Chinese man, Mr. Zou, who heard about a “Gay Hotel” online in April 2005 and decided to start his own gay website called “Beijing Sky.” He organized parties and charged membership fees. Last November someone tipped off the police who promptly raided the party and arrested the ten men involved, who were performing acts of sodomy. Mr. Zou has received a one-year prison sentence. The judge who officiated the trial said, “Although people today are gradually becoming more free to follow their sexual preferences, that doesn't mean the law will indulge them. People should choose healthy and proper life styles.”
To be honest, I didn’t know that homosexual acts were illegal in certain states in America until 2003. Nor did I know that such acts are illegal in China. What do I think about it? My perspective is more conservative than some. I believe homosexuality is wrong. However, I do not think a person who is homosexual is necessarily morally decrepit and evil. In fact, I know homosexuals who are more moral and kind than I. But the question of whether an act that I feel is wrong should be illegal is a difficult one.
The judge said that homosexuality is both unhealthy and improper. I assume “unhealthy” points to STDs like AIDS. Well, if you are going to legally prohibit homosexual acts for spreading disease, it seems to me that you will have to punish all fornication for the same reason. In the case of STDS, I do not think Homosexual sex is more damaging to society than straight sex.
What about homosexuality being an “improper” lifestyle? I do not think that governments should step into issues of social propriety. For example, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon.) In the 19th and 20th centuries, state agents and mobs persecuted and drove members of the LDS church across the continent for their lifestyle and beliefs, saying that the LDS lifestyle was harmful to society. That was wrong. If a person committed a crime that directly harmed another person, say theft or assault, that person should be tried and punished according to his or her actions, not his or her beliefs or personal lifestyle.
Is it my right to believe homosexuality is wrong? Certainly. But, so long as homosexual acts do not demonstratably harm others, I do not believe it is my right to force others to stop it. Nor do I believe that a government has that right. But that’s just my opinion.
