As I sit and listen to a love song by the late, Freddie Mercury, former lead singer of the famous rock group, Queen, I hear nothing but a human being’s eternal quest for true love.

One wouldn’t know Mercury was gay just by listening to one of his songs. I have been asked if I am gay because Queen happens to be my favorite band of all time. I answer, “No, and what the hell does it matter?” Why can’t consenting people love whom ever they want?

I find that fear and ignorance sill plague our society as well as long-held, yet false, beliefs regarding gay identity. People believe lesbians, and especially gay men are sexual deviants by nature. There is also the belief that homosexuality is unnatural and immoral, sinful or all of the above.

Furthermore, I’ve heard people claim that same-sex preference is a matter of choice, that is, gay identity is not something one is born with or a biologically inherent trait.

To me, there is nothing more natural than consenting individuals engaged in a loving relationship, whether the couple is the same sex or not.

Gay, lesbian, transgender and intersex people are a product of nature, as we all are. The two arguments against the idea that homosexual identity is not natural that I hear are: First, God, being the creator of all things, did not intend for same-sex couples because it is a sin, it is immoral and homosexuals cannot reproduce. Second, reproduction is the main purpose of sexual intercourse. Since gays and lesbians can’t reproduce, they are abnormal and dysfunctional.

Supposing that God is the creator of all things, if He didn’t intend on creating humans with same-sex preferences, who the hell created them?

Human beings evolved out of nature. No matter if it is exploding volcanoes, gay giraffes or gay and lesbian people being born, it is still natural. Nothing and no one intends on creating anything or anyone a certain way, it just happens.

In addition, as long as companies pay men good money to beat their meat and donate sperm, lesbian couples can have children. However, there are still popular theories that portray homosexuality as unnatural and abhorrent.

Alan Medinger, the director of Regeneration, an ex gay ministry in Baltimore, said, “We have-the biological evidence-clearly indicates that (homosexuality) is a disorder, in that homosexuality represents a tendency to want to use body parts for some purpose other than that for which they were designed. The penis and vagina are certainly constructed for male-female intercourse. Their complimentary shapes and the location of highly-sensitive nerve endings show, without a doubt, the divine intent.”

Medinger is positing that only reproductive sex is natural. I’m pretty sure sex feels just as good in any other sex act that same-sex couples engage in as male-female vaginal intercourse.

Sex feels great naturally, whether one is procreating or not. However, there are Sacramento State students who have a different take on the issue.

Government major Alec Snelling said he believes that homosexuality is “more genetic than a choice and unhealthy when it is ignored.”

In contrast, Jessica Anderson, a kinesiology major, thinks homosexuality is “not genetic. You like who you like. You can’t control your feelings for it.”

This explanation is the nurture side of the debate, that is, that social, cultural and/or peer influences shape one’s sexual identity.

Members of the Sac State, Queer-Straight Alliance stated that one’s “environment may help one feel more comfortable with coming out,” but that homosexuality is not a choice.

Other members went on to say, “Why would I choose to be gay? Why would I choose to be discriminated against?”

As more entertainers, movie stars and athletes such as ex-NFL player Esera Tuaolo and, more recently, ex-NBA player John Amaechi, come out about their gay identity, hopefully some human beings unknown to the world, will have the courage to be themselves without regret or fear.

As of 2003, there were 82 countries where homosexuality was illegal, eight of which sentenced people engaging in homosexual acts to the death penalty. Let the United States be the guiding light to the rest of the world for sexual identity, equality and recognition.

In ancient Greek writer Plutarch’s Erotikos (Dialogue on Love), one of his characters argued that, “the noble lover of beauty engages in love wherever he sees excellence and splendid natural endowment without regard for any difference in physiological detail.”