Seriously. I’m really sorry, and sad for you.

But when you say that gays should not be given the same rights as everyone else, you’re a bigot by definition.

I mean, I know you don’t think you’re a bigot. You think you’re a modern, free-thinking reasonable person. All bigots think that. No one thinks of themselves as a bigot, because they’ve rationalized their reasons for treating other human beings as less than human.

Despite the fact that there is absolutely no evidence that anyone chooses their sexual orientation, you have decided that they do.

There are a few reasons why you may believe that.

Maybe your religion tells you that’s the case and you won’t question it.

Or maybe you have those feelings, and assume everyone else does too. Since you’re fighting the urges inside of you, you think everyone goes through that. “Since I have chosen not to act on my feelings,” you say, “then they can make the choice, too.”

Unfortunately, in either of these scenarios, you’re still a bigot.

The fact that you believe very strongly that you are correct doesn’t mean anything. The reasons for your bigotry aren’t important. All that matters is how you treat your fellow human beings.

And once you have decided that other humans can be treated as inferiors for things they can’t control — their sex, their race, their sexual orientation, their place of birth — then you’re a bigot no matter how sincerely you may believe you are not.

And I’m sorry for you.