Cant help but join in.
I am in almost complete agreement with SJS, I think. On the other hand, I am in near agreement with Halevi and others. I think your arguing about two different things.
I dont think any frum Jew would disagree that it is a violation of God’s law to engage in the act of mishkav zachor. We tend to forget, however, that we Jews, not the citizens of the United States, are bound by the laws of the Torah. What the people of the United States are obligated to do – as are every other people on earth – is to set up a civil society complete with comprehensive laws. These laws need not mimic the Torah, and I’m not sure it would be desirable for them to do so.
Aside from the socio-political system envisioned by the Torah (which is itself heavily democratic in many respects, but that is a discussion for another time), pure democracy is likely the political and legal system most consistent with the idea that each person is tzelem elokim. In a democracy, each person must be treated equally subject only to punishment for their SPECIFIC ACTIONS that violate the majority’s law.
America would go terribly wrong if it were to regulate the conduct of one segment of society simply because that segment has natural tendencies unlike those of the majority. If we ought not prevent blacks from marrying simply because they are black, and we ought not prevent arabs from flying planes simply because they are arabs (there may of course be other reasons), then we ought not prevent homosexually oriented people from contracting to live together for certain economic and social benefits simply because they prefer to build a home with members of their own gender.
As Jews, I think we must stand firm on the wrongness of engaging in homosexual conduct (though not in the cillul hashem creating manner that some did in the last week or so). At the same time, we must respect those who have tendencies towards such acts as having been created b’tzelem elokim by not denying them the social norms we all enjoy. As the gemarah relate sin berachos – the pasuk is read yitamu chataaim min haaretz, not yitamu chotim: We do not desire to eradicate the people who do wrong; we must strive to preserve the people and only eradicate the erroneous conduct.