Jim Daly, President of Focus on the Family, writes to the New York Times:

Some same-sex marriage activists have abandoned reasoned arguments for emotional epithets in trying to win converts to their cause.

You report that a gay man from Seattle started a petition “asking Microsoft to end its association with what he called ‘hate groups.’ ” “Hate” is far too big a word to be thrown around with such little discretion. It imputes a sinister motive to what is a deeply held belief that God’s design for human sexuality lies within the lifelong context of one-man, one-woman marriage.

We who hold these views are accustomed to having our beliefs challenged. Should this effort to intimidate us continue, though, we may not be able to speak about these matters at all.

America has a long tradition of turning disagreements into debates, not denigration. Let’s be strong enough to keep it that way.