WIAN – That’s a cute drasha about sinat chinam but halachikly speaking there is most certainly room to classify homosexual relations as one of the biggest issurim. There are only three categories of sin that one is obligated to give up their life rather than commit and sinat chinam ain’t one of them. However arayot is. And of the list of arayot, homosexual relations is one of the most chamur because it is not even a sin most normal people want to partake in. The gemera (Gittin I believe) says that a slave ship was taking Jewish boys and girls back to Rome for forced prostitution and the girls all jumped off the ship and drowned themselves rather than suffer that fate. The boys then made a kal v’chomer and said that if the girls gave their life rather than commit a sin that is natural, how much more so should we give our lives rather than do a sin that is unnatural and they all drowned themselves as well.
As far as the dor hamabul – learn up your Chazal. Despite the sinfulness of the generation Hashem didn’t decree destruction on them until they legally sanctioned homosexual and beastial marriages. The theft between them is simply what sealed the deal but gay and animal marriage is what brought about the decree itself.
You don’t need to take it upon yourself to convince anyone whether gay marriage is moral or how Hashem feels about it – He has already done that for us quite explicitly in the Torah. What I can’t figure out is how there is even a sheila?
You are correct that things such as dishonesty in business are reprehensible. The reason nobody organizes protests against it is that it’s not practical to make a protest for every sin in the world. And so to we don’t make protests against homosexuality – have you ever in your life heard of a Jewish protest against people stam being gay? Nobody is suggesting that. This thread started in the first place because people are rising up and trying to get the government to legally sanction this sin and state that the government as mandated democractially by the people think that it’s ok. THAT is what the protest was being suggested about. Not that there are gay people, but that they want the government to officially state it’s acceptable and that just as they are advocating their rights to further their morality and cause, we as Torah Jews should also use that same right to stand up and voice our objection.
Let’s take your example – sleazy business. It happens and we don’t organize protests because it’s somewhat just an unfortunate part of life. However, were a group of people to actually have the gumption to petition the government to make sleazy business legal wouldn’t it also be appropriate for Torah Jews to stand up and oppose such legislation?
You seem to have a problem with what you perceive as judging other people. I agree with you – it’s not necessarily our place to judge them. Thank G-d I’m not gay but that’s not to say I don’t have my own personal truckload full of aveirot and yeter haras do deal with. Therefore it’s not mine, or any other person’s place to judge somebody for what must be an unthinkably hard challenge to overcome. But that isn’t what’s being discussed. What we are discussing isn’t the individual’s actions but society itself taking something that is wrong and trying to say its right – especially when we have a chance to voice our opinion and disagree. It’s one thing to say that we all have our own challenges and yetzer hara to deal with and if somebody fell into something I’m not going to judge him because that is his personal test from Hashem. It is something else entirely to take an act blatently prohibited and despised by Hashem and try to say it’s now fine and dandy.