When it became unpopular to lynch (or stone) perverts, the incentive to stay in the closet was diminished, if not eliminated altogether. There have been sexual deviants since the beginning of time- - - -There were prescribed punishments for incest and bestiality in the Old Testament, and they virtually always ended up with the offenders achieving room temperature- - - - -usually in some slow, painful, very public way. That solved the immediate problem- - - -taking the freak out of society, and it also provided a powerful incentive for the next pervert to keep his urges under control. When the consequences of socially unacceptable behavior go away, so does the fear of punishment for violating the social contract we have with our fellow human beings. If you think coproral and capital punishment doesn't work, line up a dozen people and shoot the first three, then beat the next three to a bloody pulp. The rest of the group will do whatever you tell them to do.
