You've grossly mischaracterized me and my stances.
I said I feel an obligation to align my vote with my moral stances on issues, which I was pointing out comes at the cost of being able to align my vote with any of the other stances I may have. I never said that I find my own beliefs to be unfair or wrong. As you implied, it'd be ridiculous to knowingly hold onto ideas you're aware are wrong.
And sorry if this is a bit of a soapbox issue for me, but who said anything about hating gays? At least for me, when it comes to the hot-button topic of marriage, my firm stance is that the government should stay out of it, regardless of which way someone swings. Legal unions should be available to anyone that want them, and should come with all of the expected tax breaks and other legal benefits, plus all of the expected legal obligations and financial responsibilities. In contrast, marriage is an entirely separate concept that means different things to different people, so it's best left to individuals, organizations, or religions to decide whether they want to ignore it, treat it as a pleasant tradition, or incorporate it into their religious practices.
Speaking more broadly, sure, I consider homosexuality to be a sinful practice based on what the Bible says, but I could say the same about eating too much, lying, getting drunk, stealing, or even just engaging in lustful thoughts, so it's always struck me as incongruous that homesexuals get singled out as being a group that I allegedly hate. What about the others? Why don't I get accused of hating them too? After all, from what I can tell, I have just as much cause to hate drunks, gluttons, and people with filthy minds...
...which is to say, I have no cause to hate them at all. Everyone sins on a regular basis, myself included (including some of the sins I've already listed!). Being a sinner is not a valid reason to hate someone, and thank God for that, since if it was we'd all be miserable, self-loathing people. The Bible isn't filled with kumbaya love, but it does say that God loves us all, so who am I to hate those He chooses to love? The Bible also says that God hates sin wherever it is and that even one sin is enough to face judgment, so who am I to act as if I'm in any way superior when I'm subject to the same judgment? And the Bible says that it's God's job to judge others, not mine, so I have no business being judgmental, let alone hateful towards anyone else, regardless of their sexual orientation.
I get that there are religious types who can and do engage in hateful attitudes towards homosexuals, and it's hopefully obvious by now what my stance is towards the validity of those attitudes. But what about our shared responsibility to assess people on their own merits, rather than on the basis of a convenient stereotype that lets us marginalize them? As a site, we're too quick to apply the "hateful and intolerant" religious stereotype label to folks around here as soon as they profess a religious belief, without ever finding out what they actually believe.
Yes, stereotypes oftentimes have a basis in reality, and you'll run into people for whom the stereotype is a good fit, but that doesn't excuse us to dismiss people according to racial, religious, gender, national, or sexual orientation stereotypes that don't fit, just because they fall into one of those categories. We all should be making a concerted effort to stamp out bigotry, whether it's aimed at someone on the basis of their religion, their sexual orientation, or some other irrelevant piece of data.
that's reminiscent of the argument, though, that the right hating Obama and hating his policies is just like the left hating Bush and his policies. The difference is that, although the left didn't really like Bush, the real hatred came as a result of his policies; the war in Iraq, and the conversion of the budget surplus into a deficit. whereas obama was the satanic muslim socialist america hater from day 1, and so even a recycled republican gem like the ACA became the fruit of the poisoned tree.
