Okay. This is an extremely complex issue and I won't insult it, or those who've chosen to post about it by pretending otherwise. But I will try to clarify a few points, as well as the main idea of starting this thread.
I believe that a lot of the moral guidelines in the bible are defensible. This is because the prohibit acts that would harm yourself or other people, or are exploiting others for one's own gain. This of course includes activities such as beastiality and paedophelia, as this is the exploitation of an animal or a child for one's sexual gratification. Drug and alcohol addictions are examples of laws protecting us from harming ourselves.
However, homosexuality and mutually consented homosexual acts fall into neither one of these two categories. They do not harm or exploit others, and do no harm those who engage in them. This is the ONLY reason why use of the bible is not permitted in this debate. Were we debating virtually any other point of law in the bible, we could bring in all manner of real-world issues to back up the bible's apparent teaching, but with reference to homosexuality, there simply aren't any anti-gay facts to be used.
Now, onto other issues. I do not claim to know what causes homosexuality. I do know that it is innert and cannot be changed. But I would raise the point, does it really matter? Does it really matter if it is caused by genetic changes or environmental factors? I think not. Nor does it matter whether homosexuality is chosen or not (even though in nearly all cases it isn't). Do we fuss over whether people choose to wear the red or the green sweater? No. So just because red sweaters are in season this year, doesn't make green sweaters a bad choice, just a minority one.
A few people have expressed their disgust at gay people who express their affection in public. I ask, why? Surely this is no less valid than a heterosexual couple expressing affection? If a child sees it, then great. They will grow up to understand that the world is a place where all kinds of love can happen, instead of growing up believing the lie that homosexuals are evil creatures of the night that come out after dark and prey on children. Hey, when I was ten that was what I believed, because whenever I saw homosexuals, they were scandalised and painted as perverts. It wasn't until I got out into the real world and met a few (and got rid of the church from my life) that I discovered the true nature of gays. I was pleasantly surprised. Most of them were perfectly nice, ordinary people... while some were absolute cretins! LOL A typical cross-section of the human race. So if you do feel repulsed when you see a gay person expressing affection in the street, stop a moment and ask yourself why. And would you feel that way if you'd seen them doing it when you were much younger? Or maybe seen a few gays on TV? You're not used to it, that's all that's going on. And there's only one way to change that... lots of public queer snogging! Yay!
Nearly all of the problems commonly associated with homosexuality (depression, suicides, anti-gay hate crimes, broken families... among others), can be traced back to homophobia, or a lack of education about homosexuals or homosexual sex acts. Countless health risks and injuries could be avoided if greater education about safe gay sex were provided in our schools. Teen suicides would be drastically reduced if kids didn't have to fear the word 'gay' like plague in the playground. Parents would be spared much of the heartbreak they currently suffer when a child comes out to them if the more conservative voices in our community would just shut their traps for a moment. Get the picture? I'm not talking about special rights, or the elevation of homosexuality above heterosexuality, that's just silly. I'm talking about the complete integration of homosexuality into our society and its complete neutralisation as an 'issue'. It shouldn't be an issue, it should be accepted as a fact of life, and those who identify as homosexuals, should have every right accorded to their heterosexual counterparts.