I am a little surprised by the furor over the Afghani man who is facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity. His situation reminds me a lot of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the opposition for which is the belief that individuals should be able to be themselves. The Afghani man could certainly say “okay, okay, I’ll be a Muslim” and then continue to believe whatever he wants, inside. But the American response is that he should be free to be a Christian if he wants. Well, guess what, folks - gay soldiers should be allowed to be gay without having to pretend they’re straight or anything else they want to be.

But the conservatives won’t make the connection. They support this man’s freedom to be an “out” Christian because Christianity is a good thing. Homosexuality, on the other hand, is a bad thing - and so gay people shouldn’t be allowed to be out.