A lot of Americans, especially in the red states, simply don't see homos from day to day, so they are easily manipulated by the propaganda of the Christian Right and other extremist groups. They don't see that there is a great sense of "family" in the gay community. They don't walk down Santa Monica Boulvard in West Hollywood and see gays interacting with everyone else in the community, and the world somehow doesn't stop turning. They don't have gay couples at their dinner parties. They don't see gay couples with children. So their imaginations are almost all they have--and the Christian Right is all too willing to fill that void with hateful propaganda.

When you never see a gay person, and your minister tells you the "homosexual agenda" involves corrupting your kids and shoving fists up their anuses, probably the idea of "gay marriage" sounds a tad frightening.

Still, this can only work for so long. Frightening stereotypes about blacks, and outrageous predictions about what would happen if they were given equal rights, only worked for so long. Because reality, that old antagonist of prejudice, was always there, and eventually it becomes impossible to deny reality. Eventually it will be impossible to deny the reality that gays have families, too, and that a world in which gays have status as equals wouldn't be disastrous--in fact, it would be a better world, because there would be one less injustice in it.

Meanwhile, social conservatives, let the specious distinctions and twisted justifications fly. Their time is limited. I guess you should enjoy them while you can.