Andy, I respect your views and I hope in this forum we won't have to succumb to the temptation of name-calling. To quote Voltaire: "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." Zeal can be a good thing. The Zealots were originally a political movement in 1st century, Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Jewish–Roman War (66-70). We could say that the American patriots seeking independence from Britain had the same zeal. One of my Greek ancestors who sought freedom from the Ottoman empire sold her wealth and led an assault on the Turks which turned the tide. I think the kind of zealots you are thinking of in relation to the gay marriage issue might be along the lines of ISIS throwing gay men from rooftops.
My position has been reasonable, civilized, accommodating, and conciliatory. You have sidestepped my arguments in my blog and followed with a rhetorical question: what would I say to a gay couple. To which I replied. The voice of the People is a hodge-podge of self-appointed moralists. You can't muzzle the opinions you don't like. Free Speech is a guaranteed right under the First Amendment. Sometimes the loudest group gets what they want, even when they are on the wrong side of an issue. This right to voice one's opinion does not begin and end with one's station in life, income, marital status, or whether one has a beard or not. When we resort to implying people are "tin-foil hat dunces" we are doing exactly what the O'Reilly's have been doing to the truth movement. The only necessary thing for evil to triumph is for good men (and women) to do nothing.
I see you as a valiant leader. You have Judeo-Christian roots and are embracing change. My views may be different than yours on this issue, but I have stated my case with legal reasons without resorting to name-calling. I hope we can move on.
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