There are certain things that we Christians should not say or do. We Christians should not denigrate gay people or throw stones at gay people or seek to deny gay people equal and fair treatment. We should not denigrate anyone or throw stones at anyone or treat anyone unfairly. I am a Christian, and so when say what I think we Christians should not say or do, I am speaking of myself as well as other Christians. We should not do these things, because they are hurtful to others, and they are NOT what Jesus would do. No gay person that I know of has sought to deny any Christian the right and the opportunity to worship freely and to practice his or her faith freely. There are some Christians, unfortunately, who do seek to deny gay people basic civil rights and fair treatment, not just within the churches, but in the wider civil society. They seek to deny us the right to marry and to raise families with protections for our children. They seek to deny us the right to keep our children. They seek to suppress honest information about us, about our families, and about our lives. A few even seek to kill us in the name of Jesus. If gay people tried to do that to Christians, we Christians would howl in protest and demand justice, with good reason. But gay people have never tried to do anything like that to Christians. We gay people simply want to live our lives with the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexuals. That includes the right to marry our spouses and provide legal protections to our families, including our children. Have I been denied the ability to live openly and freely? I'll share a personal story. A few years ago, I went with two women friends to a lesbian club. One of the friends was not a lesbian; she just wanted to go out with us to hear some music. Late in the evening we left the club and walked down the street. Suddenly we were attacked by a man yelling at us that we were dykes, and he was going to show us what a real man can do. He had a small gang of guys with him, though they did not actually participate in the attack. They just watched as he tried to choke me, and as my friend tried unsuccessfully to bring him down by kicking him in the knees. Our other friend managed somehow to get away and get back to the bar while we were trying to fight off this guy, who was clearly high on something. Suddenly he stopped fighting and accused me of pulling his gold chain and cross off his neck and losing it. He said, "That cross was blessed!" I said, "Oh, you are a religious person?" The guy then forced us to get down on our hands and knees and look for the cross on the ground. He also forced another woman to get down on the ground and search. She lived in a nearby apartment and had come out to see what the commotion was. The gang ensured that we could not get away. Then the police arrived and the guy was arrested. The police told us that he was a known rapist and someone known to attack gay people. He was eventually convicted of attacking us. Many gay people can share similar stories of having been attacked just for walking out of a bar or for holding hands or for being too visibly gay. I am not suggesting that Christians are the ones doing the attacking. But I would like to see more Christians standing up and speaking out against such crimes. Instead of debating whether "homosexuality" is a "sin," I think it would be useful for more Christians to stand up against the mistreatment of gay people. I think Jesus would have been in the forefront of the gay rights movement. I think Jesus would have been outspoken in his denunciation of those people who attack gay people and who treat gay people like we are not people at all. I would like to invite you, Zaac, to become one of those Christians who stands up against the still all-too-frequent attacks that are aimed at innocent gay people.
