Andrew Sullivan had a very interesting discussion with CNN's Fareed Zakaria Sunday about last week's Supreme Court decisions involving same-sex marriage.
In light of the media's almost universal support for the rulings and the way opponents have been routinely eviscerated, the most compelling thing Sullivan said was, "I'm very concerned, actually, that we may become intolerant of people who believe homosexuality is still sinful" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST: Do you worry that there will be a right-wing backlash of the kind that Roe v. Wade produced for the next decade or two?
ANDREW SULLIVAN: No. I think that backlash happened. We're sort of in a backlash lash at this point. And because this decision was not as sweeping as Roe versus Wade.
ZAKARIA: Right.
SULLIVAN: It still allows every state to make their own decisions.My worry is that there will be an overplaying of our hand, and that people will try and force this more quickly than we really should. What I'm proud of so far is that we have done this the right way. We have done this state by state. We've done it legislatively, we've done it through arguments, through that kind of -- what the founders wanted us to do. Make our case bit by bit, persuade more and more people and move that forward.
And I don't want anybody's religious liberty, I want that to be defined as maximally as possible. We do not threaten and we should never threaten the conscientious beliefs of those who disagree with us, but we should welcome their freedom because it's our freedom too. And so I'm very concerned, actually, that we may become intolerant of people who believe homosexuality is still sinful. And we have to -- we have to live by ...
ZAKARIA: You want to be tolerant of their intolerance?
SULLIVAN: Yes. Because I think in the end that's the only way to solve it. I mean I'm a Christian. I really believe in the end on this matter. You up the ante and start calling them bigots and trying to coerce them, you're as bad as they were to us. And we must never do that.
These are marvelous sentiments from Sullivan, but he's kidding himself.
For years, the left and their media minions have depicted Judeo-Christians as homophobic bigots.
At roughly the same time Sullivan made this comment, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow claimed on NBC's Meet the Press that same-sex marriage opponents are "arguing in favor of discrimination."
And on CNN the following hour, Howard Kurtz and panel spoke of the media's almost one-sided presentation of this issue with journalism professor Steve Roberts saying, "What's missing often in TV newsrooms: there are plenty of gays, there are very few people of faith and very few evangelical Christians who in their own beliefs would be against gay marriage."
As such, religious same-sex marriage opponents have about as much chance of being respectfully treated by gays and the media as a snowball in - well, you know.
Quite the contrary, now that the Supreme Court has ruled, it seems likely that religious opponents will be even worse treated in the coming weeks, months, and years.
Bet on it.
