The only reason I'm doing this is because I think its connected to a Ramban in this week's parsha.
Also, I realize there's a lot more to say about this issue than I will say in 1 soundbite. But I want to offer an alternative to the way the debate is framed by many people.
The topic (which I was too embarrassed to put in the title): homosexuality - legal or illegal?
That's not really the question nowadays - homosexuality used to be illegal. Now its definitely legal, and the only question is whether we should recognize such a relationship as marriage. But let's go back to the primary question: as religious Jews, do we want / should we advocate for homosexuality to be illegal in America.
See here (http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/General+News/181249/Erick-Salgado-Wins-%27Halachic%27-Letter-of-Support-.html) where numerous rabbanim (including 2 roshei yeshiva at YU), sign a letter that it is halachically obligatory to vote for the candidate who is against legalizing gay marriage - and they would probably say the same if any candidate would have the guts nowadays to try to outlaw homosexuality in its entirety.
I have 2 comments. Number 1 is the ramban in this week's parsha (23: 18). The pasuk says, לֹא־תִהְיֶה קְדֵשָׁה מִבְּנוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא־יִהְיֶה קָדֵשׁ מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: - there should not be people who are mukdash (not holy, but separated or designated) for znus amongst bnei yisrael.
Says the Ramban: אבל נראה שדעת בעל הברייתא הזו כענין שהזכרנו, יזהיר לב"ד שלא תעמוד האשה על אם הדרך לזנות, ... וכן יזהיר לב"ד על המזומן להיות נשכב מן הזכרים, ... ומלבד האזהרה בעושי העבירה יזהיר כאן בבית דין שלא יניחו להיות קדש בעינים על הדרך, כידוע מהם בארץ מצרים שעומדים על הדרך מכוסי הפנים כנשים לעשות התועבה הזאת. ודרשו בברייתא הזו, שאין אנו מוזהרים באחרים זולתנו אם יעשו עם רעיהם כן, שלא הוזהרנו אנחנו בגוים אלא בענין ע"ז בלבד: - We are not commanded to enforce sexual morality amongst the other nations - the extra words in the pasuk מִבְּנוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל and מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל teach us that beis din should only enforce sexual morality amongst bnei yisrael. So its hard for me to imagine that it is halachically obligatory to vote for a candidate solely because of the issue of homosexuality when it seems to be explicit that we are not metzuveh to enforce this issue for goyim.
Ok. But the rabbonim aren't against legalizing homosexuality because they care about the goyim. To quote their letter, "The moral climate of the city we live in, affects the Jewish community as seen many times in the
Torah." So whether or not we are metzuveh to enforce morality in America, we should do so to enable ourselves to live in a better moral climate.
Which brings me to my second point. I think we would act very differently in American politics if we realized that we are in galus - we don't belong, and should feel uncomfortable, in a certain sense, in America.
If we felt like "strangers in the land", would we be comfortable enforcing our standards of morality upon others so that we could live in a better moral climate? Take as a parable the way you act as a guest in someone's house vs in your own house - in your own house, you'll make rules - you might not let TV in the house, or at least not allow certain shows to be watched, etc. But if you are a guest at someone's house, you're not going to come in and throw out their TV, or forcibly change the channel on them if they are watching a show you deem to be inappropriate. In an abstract sense, it might be morally correct to do so - you save both them and yourself from a corrupting moral influence. But even if you're in the right, you're not the boss - to try to enforce moral standards in someone else's house reflects a certain belief of ownership and privileges on your part - I have the right to be here as much as you do, and therefore I have a say in the moral running of your household.
We think we're Americans, and therefore we have the right to dictate morality in america just like every other citizen. But are we Americans or Israelis in galus?
In Israel, we should fight to make homosexuality illegal. But I think the issue is much more murky in America.
Which brings me to my final point. The Jewish community has a diverse range of needs in America, some more important than others, some which we should feel comfortable lobbying for, and others which we shouldn't. Can it really be so clear cut that it is halachically obligatory to vote for this 1 candidate? There isn't some shikul hadaas neccesary to determine who overall serves our interests the best which cannot be translated into a black and white psak halacha?
I'm done with the politics.
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