Nurture Vs Nature Heads To Court

[ccharles000]

(San Jose, California) The issue over whether homosexuality is the result of nature or nurture is likely to be key in a wrongful dismissal suit brought by a former San Jose City College professor who claims she was fired for advocating people chose to be gay.

The conservative Christian Alliance Defense Fund filed the suit this week on behalf of June Sheldon.

The lawsuit alleges that Sheldon was fired in February from her job as a biology professor when a student complained about her answer to a question about the impact of heredity on "homosexual behavior in males and females."

In her answer Sheldon referenced a German study claiming a link between homosexuality and maternal stress.

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon08/07/071808nat.htm

[iamjoy]

1. Why Does It Matter

I haven't done extensive research, but I think Kinsey's theory on sexuality is probably the closest to right - some people may chose it, others could no more be happily heterosexual than they could change their eye color.

But, why does it matter? What consenting adults do in private is no one's business (and what they do in public should be subject to no more condemnation than what heterosexuals do in public). Homosexuals are just as deserving of constitutional protections as anyone else in this country.

[pampango]

2. While I certainly agree with your "live and let live" philosophy,

aren't most of our constitutional and other civil protections based on our birth characteristics? I am no lawyer, certainly not a constitutional lawyer, but it seems to me that the rights of homosexuals could be more firmly protected if the courts viewed it as an issue of "nature" rather than "nurture".

In any case, I agree that "(w)hat consenting adults do in private is no one's business" certainly not the government's.

[beam me up scottie]

4. That's a really good question.

Hopefully someone on DU will have an answer.

[iamjoy]

7. What About Religion?

It certainly seems that is more a matter of nature than nurture, and while some may debate how much one's faith or relationship with God is choice, it is certainly not a physical birth characteristic.

And yet, this country has laws to protect people from religious discrimination.

[Flubadubya]

3. OK everybody, the present tense is "choose", not "chose"

Irregular Verb - To Choose

Meaning:
To select

Conjugation of 'To Choose'
Base Form: Choose
Past Simple: Chose
Past Participle: Chosen
3rd Person Singular: Chooses
Present Participle/Gerund: Choosing


Just flame me! :evilgrin:

[Donald Ian Rankin]

5. Nature vs nurture isn't really the issue here; it's about employment law, surely?

Whether or not the professor was right isn't at issue here; the issue is whether the University was right to fire her.

It may well be either that she was wrong, but the University still shouldn't have fired her for it, or that she was right, but the University fired her for some other, perfectly good reason - without more information, we can't be sure.

[cobalt1999]

6. If the only reason she was fired was a student complained about an answer to a question

And the answer referenced a published study, that would seem a bit extreme.

If there was a pattern of behavior of citing non-scientific or biblical resources that's one thing, but in this case, I have to side with the with professor.