I like what I like. Period.. End of story..

I think people feel the need to say over and over that it's in your DNA bc people feel attacked and fear persecution. People choose what sexual activity they participate in. If we didnt restrain ourselves sometimes, we would not be following the rules of society and could be in trouble. You don't just have sex with someone when you feel like it so there is a choice to act or not. The choice to act is based on not just desire, but also what you think. Will I be glad I did this? What will the social or emotional consequences be? Do I even like this person that much? Is it a safety concern? And just like we learn what to wear from society, we do also take cues from role models on how to court, what to do and how to respond. In some societies, homosexual activity is out in the open because it is more accepted. I did know one guy in college who had behaviors that many friends characterized as gay, soft spoken and well groomed, gentle sweet man. His oh so supportive progressive friends urged him to embrace his homosexuality. He talked about thinking well maybe I am gay. He tried dating men and discovered, this isnt what I want. This is what other people think I want. This probably happens more often that people are encouraged to date and live a certain way with people of the opposite sex. Still, in a similar way, people find themselves often either trying out what society is suggesting or in some cases rebelling from society either because of bad experiences or because they have a different idea than the one being suggested. But when we talk about relationships we arent hopefully just talking about sex. We are talking about love and what that means is very much open to interpretation then, what is orientation verses what is platonic or familial love or simple love.

Whenever I encounter a bigot who thinks sexual preference is a choice I challenge them as to how they chose to be straight. "What considerations did you have before you decided?"

I had a strong sense that my youngest son was gay, when he was 4 years old. Later, he told me he knew around 4th grade. His father and I did not confront him. We simply loved him, taught him empathy, kindness and responsibility, and included respect for human kind. He realized he is gay, has strong self worth, empathy, and ethics.

He told me he stopped believing in god (christian god) when he was in the 5th grade, stating it didn't make sense. Religion and consequences of non-conformance is a weapon of control.

I agree and have always thought that since I cannot bring myself to be gay, what would make me think a gay person has anymore choice in the matter than I do. I happen to have had some very close gay friends with whom I got drunk, got high, and hung out with on a daily basis. My friends and I were 18 in 1968 when the word of the day was "free love". That was just as true for gay people as it was for straight people and we all had a substantial number of sexual partners. In that same general time frame AIDS was identified and all that free love was fatal for the better part of an entire generation of gay men. It killed every one of my good gay friends. I can't even write that down without shedding more than one tear. I'm not always sure people realize what a huge portion of that entire generation died.

Why are Christians so fixated on homosexuality? My theory is that Christianity is focused on the church being a power base. People focused on a power base are focused on having power over others and assume their "Christian superiority" gives them the authority to have control of others. In the 30s the churches of the south assumed they had the same authority to demand that black people accept being subservient to white (Christian) people. Not all Christians feel that way now but the ones that do are quick to justify the condemnation of homosexuals in the name of "Christian superiority" in the same way. They lynched thousands of black men and boys with impunity up to the mid 60s. They demonstrate the same power of sense of superiority today by harassing and brutalizing homosexuals because they are different and that makes them a target.

That is unfortunately human nature. Look at a grade school class where one kid has red hair, different color skin, an accent, a different religion, eats different food at lunch, or wears different looking clothes. That kid is a target for harassment because the group is desperate to demonstrate their "superiority".

Is homosexuality a choice? That word "homosexuality" is more than one thing. Therefore is has more than one answer.
Behavior. A choice.
Orientation. Not a choice
Identity. A choice, but strongly influenced by the other two. The problem with that is that if our chosen identity is out of sync with our orientation especially, we will experience uncomfortable tension and not be at ease with ourselves.
Please see my longer response to Msdemeanour in this same thread.

For one thing gays don't reproduce so they're a convenient scapegoat. The Holy See wants asses in the pews. The Bible says "be fruitful and multiply."

You're absolutely right that it's not a lifestyle choice. It's mostly a matter of hormones but there are other factors.

Even in the animal world, which btw we are a part of no matter what we choose to think, homosexuality/homosexual behaviour takes place all of the time and, amongst animals it seems to be considered as a 'norm.'
Yet religions, the 3 main Abrahamic ones at least, see it as 'sinful,' an 'affront to God,' etc, etc, and a trigger point for the Faithfools to permit them them to both vent their anger, etc, as well as yet another 'soft' target for them to attack since we, the Atheists, Agnostics, etc, are no longer the easy pickings we once were considered to be.
Whether the Faithfools realize it or not, religion RULES every aspect of their lives, i.e. their daily regimens, their bedrooms, their reproductive behaviours and, in most cases, even their thoughts and what is permissible to be taught to their children even.
The world IS changing, albeit somewhat slowly at times, but none-the-less, it IS changing and the Faithfools simply cannot handle these changes.

The Kinsey scale, also called the Heterosexual–Homosexual Rating Scale, is used in research to describe a person's sexual orientation based on one's experience or response at a given time. The scale typically ranges from 0, meaning exclusively heterosexual, to a 6, meaning exclusively homosexual.
I believe most of us fall 6 + 0 clearly sexual act homosexual while in prison. I have an uncle that got married in the middle fifties my aunt believes he was gay then but they didn't know it was possible throughout their marriage my uncles homosexuality raised a in the form of not so discreet affairs with Busboys at the restaurant. you should know I do have three cousins that look just like him.

Some Christians think that they are so much better than others that they are not relating their own experiences to those of the inferiors.

I think it is physical but the ultimate decision to accept lies in the mind. Some people just live in denial and misery or complete secrecy. I see many complex interactions between brain chemistry and social activity that would drastically affect this line of thought and perhaps even the threshold itself. I believe we will eventually discover that hormone levels vary and sexuality varies in accord with them ... and the threshold between homo and hetero sexuality does shift based on perceived acceptance. This thought-line inevitably leads to homogenic bisexuality concerns among the narrow minded and conservative.

Because they feel the need to make absolutely sure that everything fits in their little box. Religion seems to require the weirdest obsession with having everything in its place. Its very ocd for a belief system.