BY THE NUMBERS

Yahoo! Poll Asks Users To Vote On Whether Homosexuality Is Genetic

A poll currently running on the Yahoo! home page, asks visitor “Do you believe homosexuality is genetic?

First the results: 47% of respondents said “Yes, biology plays a part,” while 53% said, “No, it’s a choice and not science.”

Now the complaints: It’s bad enough LGBT rights are put up to a public vote. Do we really need to know what some random idiot thinks about the origins of homosexuality?

If this were a banal inquiry, like “Do you think there’s life on Mars,” it wouldn’t be so damaging. But with anti-gay zealots employing junk science to marginalize the LGBT community, polls like these can be dangerous. In 2009, the BBC was roundly criticized for running a poll asking readers if gays in Uganda should face the death penalty.

What do you think: Is it important to know how the general public views the topic, or is even asking the question lighting a powderkeg? Vote with your words in the comment section below.

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