The significant test is this: look at who’s using the term in that fashion and why they use it.

Even the New York Times style guide agrees:

http://www.glaad.org/media/guide/style.php

It is, in fact, as archaic as “coloreds” when that term is used in place of “African-Americans.”

The term ‘homosexual’ isn’t ‘archaic.’ It is the technically correct term for persons who are sexually attracted to the same sex, and there is no good reason to object to its use.

I realize that it may seem like an unfriendly or clinical word, but one could just as well argue that ‘gay’ is silly or frivolous.