spclk said:
Let me first say, that I do not consider homosexuality a disease. However, if it is behavior that you want to change, much like drug or alcohol use, why couldn't therapy help you change that behavior? A recovered drug addict may still want the drug, but realizes that it is unhealthy and chooses not to do it. Do you all not believe that there could be such a thing as a "recovered homosexual"?
I am not defending him, but do believe that he can control his actions "IF" this is what he chooses to do. Just putting it out there for opinions.......
Sexuality is really a spectrum, not just two poles of gay and straight. So, yes, I think there are those who deny their orientation more easily than others. (Some people even claim to have no preference between genders, but I must admit that's hard for me to imagine.)
I don't think anyone changes his/her orientation after a few days of whatever program Haggard underwent, however.
But as for your drug analogy, turn it around. Would therapy make you happy in a gay relationship and train you to give up heterosexual desires? Consider not just your choice of favorite movie stars, but your husband/wife (or whatever equivalent you have) and your
social identity as a heterosexual.
Difficult as it is to kick crack, it's nothing compared to rearranging a sexual orientation. Most reputable mental health professionals believe it is inhumane to even try.
Now as for abstaining from sex with men, that may well be possible, as you suggest. Whether it's healthy for a gay man to do so is another matter.
(I hope it's clear I found your question a reasonable one. I know you didn't mean to compare gays to drug addicts except in terms of giving up a behavior.)