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Last weekend's conference of Evergreen International in Salt Lake City advanced a somewhat curious question that has resonated nationally this summer: Can gays and lesbians be "cured" of their homosexuality? The real question should be: Does it matter?

Evergreen is a support group that aims to help Mormon homosexuals overcome their same-sex attractions through "reparative therapy." There are other such groups throughout the country, and the "ex-gay ministry" movement projected a united front last month by taking out ads in major newspapers proclaiming that "truth can set you free" — that is, that homosexuals can break from their lifestyles by embracing Christianity.

For those who feel that such groups have helped them toward a happier life, good for them. But there should be no confusion about the underlying message of this suddenly high-profile movement: Since some homosexuals have been "cured," all others can be too, thus relegating their refusal to be treated to a simple matter of choice.

This is an important point to the anti-gay activists of the Christian right, for it delineates the philosophical difference between them and homosexuals: Homosexuals, supported by a few scientific studies, maintain that they are genetically predisposed to their sexual orientation and thus have no choice in the matter, while their detractors say that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice that can be rejected, as proven by John and Anne Paulk, the Newsweek cover couple who "converted" to heterosexuality.

The Christian right wants to convince the public of its position in this debate — hence the national ad campaign — because it would then be a short step to assert that, in choosing their lifestyle, homosexuals are choosing "sin." That's how Trent Lott, the majority leader of the U.S. Senate, has publicly classified homosexuality, and if that pernicious concept gains currency among lawmakers, it is easy to foresee the demise of gay rights.

This is all so sinister and unnecessary, for it subverts the real issue, which is that homosexuals in America have a right to live free from discrimination, regardless of the forces — whether biological or environmental, or some combination thereof — that brought them to their current status.

The Christian right tries to keep the focus on whether or not homosexuals have the choice to be gay — and, therefore, the choice to "sin" — but it is utterly misdirected. The hard choice for homosexuals is not whether or not they are what they are, but rather how they are going to live with it — secretly, openly, flamboyantly, repressed, etc. A decision to seek help from an ex-gay ministry is merely a choice of how to deal with one's gayness.

These are painful issues for gays, and the insistence by the Christian right on neatly packaging gay orientation as a simple matter of choice is an insult to most of them. As for the public's concern in this matter, it is better to defuse the question of how homosexuals become what they are, and to focus on the issue that matters: Gays and lesbians are entitled to live free from discrimination and from being uniformly branded as "sinners."

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