On Chick Fil-A, tolerance, and the present state of gay rights

Helen McDonald has the day off. Today was also a national day of Chick Fil-A "kiss ins", where same-sex couples go to the restaurants and kiss their significant other. However, what lead up to this event is key to understanding what's going on with gay rights in America. Let's review:

1. Chick Fil-A is outed as hating gay people (among other things).
2. People decide companies that hate gay people don't deserve their money, so they boycott Chick Fil-A.
3. Conservatives, on the other hand, organize "Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day" so they can throw money at a company that hates gay people.
4. However, liberals who object to folks who hate gay people are branded intolerant by conservatives:

Source.

Aside from some lame attempts to defend Chick Fil-A and to pin intolerant tweets on all liberals ("many liberals responded to [Chick-fil-A PR VP Don Terry's] death on Twitter making jokes of his passing"), the heart of Sarah Hinds' article is key to understanding the current right-wing point of view:

Why is tolerance a one-way street for liberals? I am expected by liberals to tolerate homosexuality and gay marriage. But when I expect the same tolerance for my belief in traditional marriage, I am suddenly intolerant, hateful, and a bigot. Is it too much to ask for mutual respect between those for traditional marriage, and those in support of gay marriage? 

Let me tell you something, liberals. If you want to play this tolerance game, then let’s play fair. I’ll be tolerant of your support for gay marriage, and I hope you’ll be equally as tolerant of my support for traditional marriage. I personally believe marriage is between one man and one woman, and I do not accept homosexuality and gay marriage to be morally right. But let me be clear: just because I disagree with you does not mean I hate homosexuals, or those that support the lifestyle. I. Just. Disagree. I respect you, you respect me. Tolerance is a two-way street.

Let me get this straight: Ms. Hinds believes not only that legal relationships between loving, consenting members of the same sex are illegitimate ("my support for traditional marriage"), but also the fact that they were born with a sexual orientation different from hers is immoral ("I do not accept homosexuality and gay marriage to be morally right"). But, don't go and call her bigoted or hateful or intolerant!

Source.

The flaw with Ms. Hinds' argument is simple: this is not (and has never been) a homosexuality vs. Christianity debate. This is (and has always been) a homosexuality vs. those who are against homosexuality debate. Expect to hear more of this nonsense as support for LGBTQ folks continues to increase and opposition dwindles.