The latest line from anti-gay forces is that support for equal civil rights for gay people constitutes an act of intolerance toward fundamentalist Christians who interpret the Bible to suggest that homosexuality is a sin. Anyone who speaks out in defense of gays is said to be guilty of “anti-Christian bigotry.” This is more convoluted logic from the same folks who thought up the phrase “special rights” to thwart implementation of equal rights.

Aside from the fact that the vast majority of gay people and their friends consider themselves Christians, there is something sickening about seeing an aggressor playing the role of victim. Their complaints of intolerance ring hollow. They are not being denied their right to speak. Indeed, right-wing groups have banded together for a major newspaper advertising campaign against gay people and their civil rights.

The tactics are disturbingly similar to those the Nazis used in the Jew baiting prior to the Final Solution. Such activities are designed to arouse anger. When the victims speak out in protest, they are deemed intolerant and the propagandists claim to be the ones persecuted.

These hollow claims are then used to justify even greater persecution of the target group. Those who are behind the current blast of anti-gay rhetoric designed to deny fair and equal treatment to gays are the intolerant, anti-Christian ones.

William C. Stosine

Iowa City