Who is the bully?

I'm getting tired of the religious opponents of equality claiming that THEY are being bullied.

Last time I checked, I wasn't trying to deny the civil rights.  I wasn't denigrating their families, telling lies about them, and demonizing them.  I'm not suing to get married in their churches (something they lie about  regularly).  I am perfectly happy to let them believe what they want and live as they choose.  I only want them to return the favor.

It's ironic, isn't it ?  that they feel free to say the most insulting, vicious things about us, and when we complain, they bleat about persecution.  But no one is assaulting them for being Christian though they claim they are at risk.  By contrast, hate crimes against gay people in California went up by 17% after Prop H8 passed.  And we're not talking about stealing a yard sign before an election.  (More here).

Disagreeing is not bullying.  Religions who force their faith in the public square don't get a bye from being challenged.

Recently, Kate Kendell took on Elizabeth Santorum, who claims persecution because the mean ol' gay  people don't like their relationships being compared to bestiality, incest, and polygamy.

Your husband believes that LGBT people cannot be trusted to serve in the military, raise children, form stable relationships or be fully respected under the law. According to you, Rick may love us, but honey, his love is killing us, and we want nothing to do with this abusive relationship. Our community has endured expulsion from family, mass firings, daily epithets, assaults, harassment, humiliation, death, and suicides. We know that if your husband becomes president of our country our long suffering will only deepen and magnify.

So yes, we are calling him what he is: a sanctimonious bigot who believes that we are dangerous, sick, and evil. We are telling the truth about his vision and his beliefs about us. That is NOT bullying, it's about saving our own lives. Your husband would erase the landmark and life-saving changes we have seen over the past few years, and revisit the hell of a government that does not see us as fully human. Given what so many of my brothers and sisters live through daily, you calling us bullies is contemptible.

In Mississippi, about 46% of Republicans think inter-racial marriage should be illegal.  I find that an abhorrent statistic in 2012. Nationally, something under 20% of people think interracial marriage is wrong.   I would such an opinion bigoted:

•obstinately convinced of the superiority or correctness of one's own opinions and prejudiced against those who hold different opinions  
• expressing or characterized by prejudice and intolerance :

 I have pointed out before that it took until the 90s for a plurality of people to approve of inter-racial marriage, which was made legal in 1967, when a scant 20% approved!

By contrast, over half of Americans now believe that gays should have the rights of civil marriage.  An additional 25% or so think we should have civil unions.  But the conservative Mormons and the Roman Catholic hierarchy think that they have the right to force their religious views on the rest of the country dissallowing marriage AND civil unions between same sex couples.

And they claim persecution when we challenge them.  Why are we letting them get away with this?