I open my evolution texts and I ask myself, what is homosexuality? I ask this because the religious people who want to legislate against homosexuals have to convince us that homosexuality is a disease, and/or it is a result of bad parenting.

But by definition, both of these instances are impossible. The word was invented by a German researcher, and it means simply someone who is born with a sexual preference for their own kind.

Nobody knows exactly how or what creates homosexuality, and certainly it is not purely a genetic trait, as homosexuals rarely reproduce. Although scientists in the field are always pursuing the elusive origin of homosexuality, there is only one kind of 'scientist' who claims to know the truth - 'scientists' funded by, or a part of, religious organizations.

But real science says, we just don't know yet. And, that idea is kind of nice. I hope scientists can never explain sexuality in a few formulas.

However, there is one key piece of evidence that indicates that homosexuality is likely a condition some men and women are born with: Homosexuality occurs in equal numbers in every race and population throughout history. In every society, homosexuality pops up at about 1-2 percent of the population. Religious 'scientists', like Jeffrey Satinover, want to convince us that homosexuality is a result of bad parenting or a failing society. But if homosexuality is consistent and shows up in every population at the same level, then surely this is entirely false, because bad parenting and societal downfalls do not occur equally across society and history.

There are two more likely explanations for homosexuality, and one of those is simply that it is some sort of genetic accident that continues to appear in humanity. More likely, homosexuality is another example of some excess baggage of our evolution. If you look at simpler life forms, the barnacles (read more here) for example, you'll see that many species have an evolutionary history of switching from heterosexuality to hermaphrotism to homosexuality or even asexual reproduction. The ability for a creature to mutate quickly in a sexual manner was a benefit to species' in a constantly changing world. As species' populations rose and fell, hermaphrotism or asexuality may have fluctuated as the ideal condition for the species to survive.

Mankind is very much a new species on Earth, and to some extent we still have a wide range of mutating characteristics. Although studies suggest that homosexuality is not directly passed down genetically, or as a function of a genetic trait, there is reason to believe it is hardwired into our genes as some sort of ancient, and essentially useless, biological trait.

It turns out that a lot of rural Christians are absolutely convinced that homosexuality is sinful, and typically they'll first direct us to the old testament or torah. They will say clearly, the old testament says homosexuality is wrong and a sin.