The word homophobe was made to describe people who view it as sin. So I've given up on arguing that point.
No, it is a demonization tactic. It is used primarily against Christians. For some reason, I don't see articles or anyone on TV using the term "homophobic" to describe Islam, which routinely murders homosexuals in Islamic countries, just like I don't see gay couples demanding Islamic bakeries to make gay wedding cakes. It's only Christians who are attacked by the gay community on that issue. They never pick that fight with Muslims.
"Phobic" is a tactic to shut down any and call criticism of whatever it is that liberals want to promote.
I'm active in LGBT spaces so I've asked questions about this kind of stuff. For them they have a hard time separating a philosophy where people who held it have hurt them, disowned them, thrown them out of the house, from the action.
I think there are plenty of excuses they could make, but I bet they don't do the same thing in other contexts. I bet they are able to make those kinds of distinctions when it comes to other issues. It is quite easy for adults to distinguish between genuine hate of a person vs. a disagreement with a particular lifestyle choice. It's just too easy to demonize someone as a "hater" as an all-purpose weapon to shut down their criticism of the gay lifestyle.
Some even have PTSD from the way they have been treated by those who are supposed to love them. They've also explained that the fact that many or most who believe that same sex sex is sin will also support taking their rights away also doesn't exactly inspire warm feelings.
There are no such things as "gay rights." There are no such thing as hetero-sexual rights, either. Gay citizens of the US enjoy the same rights that I do, and those rights are enshrined in our Constitution. Gay people are not a minority and no one deserves minority status on the basis of how they have sex. We have gay people in every walk of life and the ones I have seen function just fine. I oppose any kind of special rights for pay people, and I certainly oppose any attempt to make mythical "gay rights" civil rights issue. It is a slap in the face to real minorities who suffered far more than gay people have in the struggle for their civil rights.
We live in a culture today that celebrates the LGBTQ community. The media and the entertainment industry and every sphere of American athletics from MLB, to the NFL to the NBA and others are very accepting and give accolades to performers and athletes who declare themselves as gay. So they needn't over-play the victim/persecution card.
There are always going to be pockets of people who persecute others. But they are not the majority.
In a way I understand. I've pretty much always been side B and never struggled with feeling like people hated me for my sexuality and never feared being beaten on the streets and whatnot like they have, so there are perspectives there that are going to be harder for me to grasp, if not impossible.
I was bullied a lot in school during my middle school and high school years. I was kind of a nerd and I was an easy target. I was beat up and ridiculed, called all kinds of cruel names, had to sit alone in the lunch room, and stuff like that. Kids were always harassing my family with prank calls at home. I know what it is like to be on the receiving end of cruelty. I didn't go to any of the high school homecomings, I didn't go to my senior prom. It was that bad. I didn't date at all through those years. Girls wanted nothing to do with me. I just learned out to soldier on. I never turned gay and never suffered any lasting trauma.
I turned out okay. I didn't lay in the corner in a fetal position or suffer from PTSD. So, I always wonder about all of these people who can't seem to move on. And given how much love our culture bends over backwards to give to homosexuals, I doubt the severity of what they claim about how much persecution they receive.
