Anti-gay

Overview
"Anti-gay" refers to any viewpoint, opinion, or person advocating against tolerance of homosexuality. Anti-gays are often referred to as "homophobic", given that much of their dislike for homosexuality seems to be based in unreasoning fear. A milder term is "heterosexism", which is the unthinking presumption that heterosexuality is preferable to any other forms of sexual expression.

Conclusions
While popular with (and heavily promoted by) religious fundamentalists (the Westboro Baptist Church being the textbook case) and far-right conservatives, anti-gayness has not proven to be rationally defensible; none of the anti-gay arguments examined by Issuepedia thus far have held up under examination.

Any argument against homosexuality (or indeed against any activity or lifestyle) must address in detail the question Is it harmful? (And how is it harmful, and what do you propose doing about this, and why do you think your proposal will be more helpful than harmful if implemented?) All the anti-gay arguments so far examined have largely been fear-based appeals to emotion, leaving the audience to fill in the answers with whatever horrors their imaginations can conjure up.

The anti-gay movement is part of the ongoing wars on the family (especially where it targets gay marriage) and individuality.

Causes
The vast majority of anti-gay sentiment seems to be driven by powermongers seeking a target which can be successfully demonized, causing people to fear them and look to the powermongers for guidance and safety. Gays are handy bait for this sort of operation, as they are a minority whose distinguishing feature strongly pushes many non-gay people's cultural squeamish-buttons. Squeamishness can be overcome, but it is also very easy to convert into fear and hate, and it is unfortunately easier to make money (and gain power) – at least in the short term – through fear and hate than through cooperation and understanding.

The myths, lies, and distortions surrounding homosexuality are a power structure meme: they exist solely to support powermongers who feed on anti-gay fears, and who in turn encourage those fears in order to build their power base.

Habitat
Anti-gay positions are most commonly argued from Biblical premises. The Bible condemns homosexuality in a number of places, and the arguer usually takes it as a given that this automatically means all right-thinking people should condemn it as well.

A few non-Biblical arguments argue from a social conservative standpoint of preserving social order, though these arguments generally lack substance.

The anti-gay viewpoint is most commonly expressed as political opposition to gay marriage, but it can also be violently physical. Many people (not all of them gay) are killed in personal assaults each year because of hatred and fear of homosexuality; many more are raped or injured.

Historical Context
Homosexuals were one of the groups targeted for extermination by Adolf Hitler's Nazis during the Holocaust in World War II.

Arguments

 * Being gay is a choice: completely irrelevant but often used as a red herring to sidetrack the debate
 * God condemns homosexuality: only if you choose to follow certain parts of the Bible over others.
 * Homosexuality is unnatural: so is civilization. Are you saying we should avoid doing anything unnatural, like... wearing clothes, drilling for oil, flying in airplanes? Are you in support of anything that is natural, like breastfeeding?

Reference

 * Homosexuality article index at 100777.com, a religion-based site

Projects

 * Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AfTAH) (web site): this must be some strange new meaning of the word "truth" I wasn't previously aware of... or perhaps it's just the neocon reality inversion again
 * president: Peter LaBarbera