A wire story in the Trib's Lifestyle section reports that support for marriage equality in California is growing -- which, given the Golden State's loopy back-and-forth politics, ---may signal that re-legalization there is around the corner, even after Proposition 8 revoked the marriage rights of gays and lesbians in the state a couple years back.

According to the article, religious affiliation affects voters' opinion on the issue: "People who hear homosexuality preached from the pulpit generally oppose gay marriage ... while those who don’t hear about it are more open to the idea."

It's unsurprising that folks enjoy listening to fire-and-brimstone sermons that reinforce their particular prejudices -- but it's that phrase "homosexuality preached from the pulpit" I find curious.

For one thing, it's unclear how one might go about preaching "homosexuality." Like it or not, it's just a fact of life that homosexuals exist in the world. One might as well preach "accountants," "air fresheners" or "baseball mitts."

Of course, the implication is that preaching homosexuality means preaching against gays and lesbians, as though the theological discussion can go only one way. In fact, there are many faiths which hold that tolerance and love are more pleasing to God than discrimination and hate -- and, in these cases, "preaching homosexuality" takes on a very different form.

Brandon's Big Gay Blog