I think a lot of people are just afraid of things that are different or new to them. Im not saying homosexuality is new, but the concept of giving them rights and etc, is fairly new. When homosexuality first came to awareness, it was treated with fear and distaste. The fact that homosexuals (or anyone for that matter) have a thirst for independence, awareness and rights, is just another social movement thats BOUND to cross the lines of what we feel is right. In the end, things will change, whether people want them to or not. I think people have to acceept that eventually, and as long as they keep their malicious thoughts to themselves, the world is still a good place to be. But when those people open their mouths and speak, they not only redicule themselves, but the human race too. Thats my opinion.
On the topic of not influencing people's sexuality, i was reading a book called "Middlesex" by Jeffery Eugenides. (He wrote "the virgin suicides" which later became a movie.) It talks of a hermaphrodite, (i realize this is a little different, and in this case it's caused by family inbreeding) and her/his doctor tells the parents "the sex of a child is chosen by nature, and the gender is established socially/thru family." (something like that) I think thats right. We're a certain sex when we're born, and how we're raised determines the type of gender we'll be, but underneath it all, we have instincts that tell us what we're really wanting or what we're here for. You cant really ignore that, or say its not true. People use religion to explain why things are they way they are because they need an excuse or a reason, to validate why they believe what they believe in. The Christian says, "because the Bible says so," and the atheist says, "who says the bible is real?" No one can win this battle, you know. Times change, people change, beliefs change.