Mr. Raushenbush,
Thank you for speaking so eloquently on “the ways we understand and value human difference”. It sure knocks the (hot) winds outta the tattered sails over on Rod Dreher’s blog. Some 2 dozen posts hyperventilating on all the religious liberties the conservatives seem to think they’re going to ‘lose’ now that (some) gay citizens are being treated equally.
Everything in the original ad is a lie or gross distortion/misrepresentation of the facts, and highly deserving of the scorn storm heading its way. This is illustrated best by John Corvino on 365gay.c0m:
“What these complaints make abundantly clear is that by “freedom,” our opponents mean the freedom to live in a world where they never have to confront the fact that others choose to exercise their freedom differently.
In other words, they intend the very opposite of a free society.”
and
“I think our opponents have incredible chutzpah to frame this issue as being about personal liberty. Freedom means freedom to differ, not to obliterate difference.”
Ironically, Mr. Dreher lauds and takes his tone from Maggie Gallagher – a divorcee!

Amen. As a young person who started off as an evangelical in the religious right movement, I decided to leave the evangelical church because of their vicious attack on our gay and bisexual brethren. Young people, including young Christians, are turned off and outraged at how evangelicals mistreat and persecute our gay friends and family. It is time progressive Christians stand up and be heard. We will not allow you to hurt our gay and bisexual brethren any longer!

Paul, thank you.
One of the saddest things I have encountered in dealing with the conservative American Christians is their refusal to budge from their self-righteousness.
Science and medicine have long since acknowledged that we homosexuals are merely a normal and useful variation on sexuality.
Our desire to have society recognize the basic human right of two people joining together in marriage to support and comfort one another is the antithesis of all the nasty, horrible things they ascribe to being gay and the “homosexual lifestyle”.
Their presumption that I “desire their approval” is leaves me speechless. I don’t desire anything from them than that they take their hatred back out of the government of this great country and let me live as human and citizen with equal rights. Their hatred has a place for them in their churches, it saves them from following God’s call to work through their own sins. Fine, no problem. Just get out of my life.
Ultimately, this is going to go the way of interracial marriage rights. The scorched earth politics of the conservative American Christians is going to leave deep wounds and insurmountable barriers which will only heal and only be breached through the death of the older generations.

Good to see that ad hominem attacks are something the ‘progressive’ party isn’t progressive enough to leave behind, as well as the mindset that ‘things will only be okay once everyone we agree with is dead.’
Viereck was right. The only remaining prejudice is anti-Catholicism. And consider how well that Catholicism is doing in comparison with the ‘progressive’ Episcopal Church.

Good to see that ad hominem attacks are something the ‘progressive’ party isn’t progressive enough to leave behind,
Ad-hominem attacks like what? Calling bigotry what it is? If you’re enacting hatred of LGBT people – and if you are in any way advocating that LGBT people should receive anything but complete acceptance as equals in society with the rest of their fellow human beings, you are indeed enacting hatred of LGBT people, whether or not you like to dress it up in the rather pathetic pablum that is “love the sinner, hate the sin” – you’re acting as a bigot. The solution to this is not to whine that the person calling you out on your bigoted words and actions is engaging in a personal attack – it’s to stop being a bigot.
as well as the mindset that ‘things will only be okay once everyone we agree with is dead.’
No, things will only be okay when it’s no longer acceptable in society to victimize LGBT people verbally, physically, or legally, just as it’s becoming less acceptable (though sadly not by any means completely gone) to victimize African-Americans, women, or the disabled verbally, physically, or legally. I would rather that happen sooner than having to wait for the Kuhnian paradigm shift to take hold. I would rather have bigots take responsibility for their bigotry and repent of their hatred. I would like to think that our society is capable of change.
The only remaining prejudice is anti-Catholicism.
My gay and lesbian friends would disagree with you there. Last time I checked, Roman Catholics can legally marry in every state in the Union. Last time I checked, walking down the street while wearing a crucifix (an outward sign of Roman Catholicism) didn’t subject the person wearing it to the risk of beatings or verbal abuse, as does walking down the street while displaying the outward signs of homosexuality or gender queerness. Last time I checked, our Vice President is a Roman Catholic and it’s a complete non-issue; do you think the same would be true if our Vice President were a gay man or lesbian?
But of course, it’s easier to play the victim than to question how your own church’s hatred, bigotry, and discrimination – and this is by no means solely directed at Roman Catholics, as many evangelical and most fundamentalist churches are guilty of the same sin – serves to marginalize, oppress, and deny the rights of others in society. It’s much easier to stamp your feet and whine about “anti-Catholic prejudice” than it is to address your own privilege.
But adults are marked by their willingness to take a hard look at themselves and their own blind spots; it is children who protest any challenge to their worldviews with desperate temper-tantrums and whines about being called names.

Goodness, Tim, how wonderful that you, of course, don’t ever engage in any sort of attacks at all.
Except for those attacks you support on my human rights.
The same constitutional protections which let your Catholic church practice its hateful, spiteful persecution of homosexuals permits me to call you and your hateful church exactly what you are: Bigots.
Don’t like it? Tough. Even the former head of the inquisition and now Bishop of Rome and prime supporter of the torturers and murders in places such as Uganda no longer has the authority to impose upon me. Je suis désolé…but, who knows – Bush nearly succeeded in his plan to torture Americans citizens for their own good, perhaps you shall yet have your chance.
Why those who are the oppressors demand that we, the homosexuals and transgendered, the very victims of their oppression, cease calling them what they are is beyond me. And it would take torture to stop me from telling the truth.

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