I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I figured I'd throw my two cents in.
First off, I'll start by saying that I'm bisexual. I'm not closeted, nor am I struggling with my sexuality. I'm one-hundred percent openly bisexual. And, although I hesitate to reintroduce politics, I tend to vote more conservative than liberal.
That being said, hate is a multifaceted entity and, as I believe someone already stated, can stem from an individual regardless of sex, orientation, racial heritage or political affiliation. As an openly bisexual individual I've received hate from those who disapprove of my sexual preferences, but by far the most insulting and hurtful hate I've experienced was from members of the LGBTQ community.
I tend to express myself in way more akin to, for lack of a better term, the stereotypical heterosexual male (insofar as a stereotypical
anything really exists). I'm not flamboyant. I have no interest in fashion, although I like a suit as much as the next guy. My interests include video games, math, astronomy and, to put it politely, actively pursuing sex. However, I do feel that my sexuality is a large part of my identity, and that I express it in a way suited to my personality and desires. Despite that, I've been accused by certain members of the LGBTQ community of--again, keeping things polite--repressing myself, my identity, my desires and, by extent, my happiness and my potential worth as an individual. While it's hard to hear hateful things from those who oppose your lifestyle, I feel it's much harder to have such a core part of your identity called into question by those who you'd expect to support and understand you.
The point being that hate, even on an issue like homosexuality, isn't relegated to a specific group.
Moving on, I think Mookie brings up an excellent point about bestiality (I'm choosing to avoid incest in this discussion for a variety of reasons which I'll not delve into). To be clear, he's
not advocating bestiality, nor is he claiming bestiality is on the same level as homosexuality. Furthermore, he's not in any way claiming that the legalization of gay marriage will lead to the legalization of bestiality/pedophilia/incest.
The question "Why is bestiality wrong?" is a question geared specifically towards supporters of gay marriage. The intent is to bring forth and examine our
immediate emotional response. When asked that question, many of us (myself included) immediately feel an emotional rush of disgust or repulsion. And while there are many rational arguments and counterarguments for and against bestiality, that feeling of disgust sticks with us.
These arguments/counterarguments can include (respectively):
- No children can be produced in interspecies sex/No children can be produced in homosexual sex
- Sex should always be consensual/What if the animal initiates?
- Mating between separate species is just wrong/How different would you feel about Mass Effect if Liara was a dog?
- Etc.
Now, I don't want to argue the moral validity of bestiality with anyone, because that's not really relevant. The idea here is to examine your arguments and the counterarguments and
how they've affected you're initial feeling. Chances are, not much. And if that's the case, congratulations! You're now one step closer to understanding the root of why many people oppose homosexuality, which is the main point of this question.
Opposition to homosexuality doesn't often stem from repressed sexuality. Despite what many may claim, homosexual partners being unable to naturally produce children doesn't drive people into homophobia. Most of these arguments against homosexuality are simply attempts at rationalizing that perfectly legitimate feeling of immediate disgust. Does this make homophobia or opposition to equal rights for homosexuals okay? Certainly not. But it
does make it understandable.
When looking at the question of bestiality, we're now put in a position where we, as supporters of equality, can
understand the opposition. Bestiality and homosexuality are very different things, but those immediate feelings that arise are not. Rather than call those who oppose homosexuality bigots or ignoramuses and attempting to argue with the
symptoms of those initial feelings, we are now in a position to use our understanding to help them
overcome those feelings.
That, I believe, is the ultimate goal we should be working towards.