ADAmong those raising concern was Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), who accused the judge of using the phrase intentionally, instead of the more widely accepted “sexual orientation." AD“It is used by anti-LGBTQ activists to suggest that sexual orientation is a choice,” the senator said in an exchange that swiftly went viral. Sexual orientation is a key part of a person’s identity.”Barrett was quick to apologize. “As a gay man, I do not have a ‘sexual preference’ any more than I have a racial preference or an ethnic preference,” wrote Ritchie Torres, a Democratic congressional candidate in the Bronx. But as those individuals pushed for legitimacy and the government and military attempted to start identifying them, “homosexuals” and their “sexual preference” became the most commonly accepted terms.

Source: Washington Post October 14, 2020 11:34 UTC