Religious Liberty, Civil Liberty

I found something awesome on Huffington Post that I want to share.  It's by Reverend Emily C. Heath.  Now many people are up in arms about how gay issues are violating their religious beliefs but I think this warrants a more in depth look but first a quiz!
(1. My religious liberty is at risk because:

A) I am not allowed to go to a religious service of my own choosing.
B) Others are allowed to go to religious services of their own choosing.

2. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) I am not allowed to marry the person I love legally, even though my religious community blesses my marriage.
B) Some states refuse to enforce my own particular religious beliefs on marriage on those two guys in line down at the courthouse.

3. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) I am being forced to use birth control.
B) I am unable to force others to not use birth control.

4. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) I am not allowed to pray privately.
B) I am not allowed to force others to pray the prayers of my faith publicly.

5. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) Being a member of my faith means that I can be bullied without legal recourse.
B) I am no longer allowed to use my faith to bully gay kids with impunity.

6. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) I am not allowed to purchase, read or possess religious books or material.
B) Others are allowed to have access books, movies and websites that I do not like.

7. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) My religious group is not allowed equal protection under the establishment clause.
B) My religious group is not allowed to use public funds, buildings and resources as we would like, for whatever purposes we might like.

8. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) Another religious group has been declared the official faith of my country.
B) My own religious group is not given status as the official faith of my country.

9. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) My religious community is not allowed to build a house of worship in my community.
B) A religious community I do not like wants to build a house of worship in my community.

10. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) I am not allowed to teach my children the creation stories of our faith at home.
B) Public school science classes are teaching science.

Scoring key:
If you answered "A" to any question, then perhaps your religious liberty is indeed at stake. You and your faith group have every right to now advocate for equal protection under the law. But just remember this one little, constitutional, concept: this means you can fight for your equality -- not your superiority.
If you answered "B" to any question, then not only is your religious liberty not at stake, but there is a strong chance that you are oppressing the religious liberties of others. This is the point where I would invite you to refer back to the tenets of your faith, especially the ones about your neighbors.
In closing, no matter what soundbites you hear this election year, remember this: Religious liberty is never secured by a campaign of religious superiority. The only way to ensure your own religious liberty remains strong is by advocating for the religious liberty of all, including those with whom you may passionately disagree. Because they deserve the same rights as you. Nothing more. Nothing less.)
So rather than religious liberty being trampled on it's the "right" of religious people to deny civil liberties to others, it's the "right" of some religious elites to legislate their beliefs into law and force others to live by their moral code. Denying civil rights and liberties is not a right, it's actually illegal under the constitution these very legislators claim to love.
Gay people are petitioning our government for the rights to join their lives together, to share insurance benefits, the right to visit their spouse in a hospital, the right to join their lives just as everyone else does now.
Recognizing those rights, the one's you've always had, is not granting them special rights.  What it actually is, is them being granted access to their civil rights under due process under the constitution.
Before you say you love Jesus and Jesus hates the gays there's something you should probably know; Jesus doesn't hate anyone, in fact He loves everyone, even His enemies.  This unconditional love for all is kind of His thing.  I mean, His entire life and ministry was all about it, all the laws and prophets hang on that principle as He said in Matthew 22:40.
So if Jesus doesn't hate anyone, why do you?  So you may want to find a different justification for your attitude, hate and behavior.
If you think that every one deserves love except those people and insert demographic, racial and gender types here.  That's a type of discrimination and it's unhealthy and sinful to deny basic love and respect to people based on them offending your delicate sensibilities is unwarranted.