Religion has always been intolerant of homosexuals,so the dynamics will always have issues. Personally think we have had those days where religion dictated how we treated one another and its time to move forward. One group is asking you to see them as human beings and the other is passing judgement. Think bringing religion into the discussion just brings the topic into a tailspin. If you do not believe in equality,I do not see how you can truely tolerate homosexuals and diversity.
Of course, I am not debating this. Religious peoples are not excluded from this common requirement for tolerance of their fellow humans, and I believe they should also be required to tolerate people whom they do not agree with as they are tolerated by others who do not agree with them.
Unfortunately this is not one sided. Homosexuals and homosexual organizations have repeatedly shown lack of tolerance for people's religious beliefs and have been actively attacking religious institutions and individuals within them. Religion can not be extracted from the subject, because it is at the core of this conflict. Just pretending that religious peoples have no valid complaints regarding this subject is disingenuous at best, and until that is also addressed, both sides of this conflict will only show more intolerance for each other rather than moving forward.
Also, to address your point about equality, I believe that people should be TREATED equally regardless of their sexual orientation or religious beliefs. I do however object to the concept that we are all actually equal. That is just a bullshit fairy tale that makes people feel good about themselves and can not ever exist in reality.
