THE NEW TEACHING: Obama Says Homosexuality Is A ‘Lifestyle Choice’.

President Barack Obama’s gay allies are ignoring his endorsement of the long-standing claim that sexual orientation is a matter of choice.

“I think people know that treating folks unfairly, even if you disagree with their lifestyle choice… Let them live their lives and under the law they should be treated equally,” he said . . .

Obama’s statement violates progressives’ demand that Americans believe there’s no choice in sexual orientation.

But Obama’s statement reflects mainstream views.

A May 2014 poll by Gallup showed that only 42 percent of Americans believe all gay people are “born that way,” regardless of choice. Thirty-seven percent of Americans believe that homosexuality is linked to upbringing and environment.

That’s a shift from 2013, when 47 percent said gays are born that way.

The author assumes that the “born this way” claim is a matter of fixed dogma for the left. But it isn’t. Indeed, it might be that the president is articulating a turn that is occurring right now with respect to what is acceptable to say. The Gallup shift mentioned in the article reflects this turn.

See this earlier post: What If Gay-Rights Advocates’ ‘Born This Way’ Argument Is Wrong?

See also: ‘Gayness’ more socio-cultural than biological, LGBT scholars say.

The idea of “born this way” has become less politically useful as the focus shifts from homosexuals to “trans persons.” It’s one thing to say that someone is “naturally” attracted to people of a particular sex, and it’s quite another to say that he’s naturally a deer.