At a recent funeral for two members of the Tennessee National Guard who died in Iraq, protestors from a local church held up signs that read, “God Hates Fags.” Evidently, according to these protestors, our soldiers are dying in Iraq not because of violent insurgents, but because America is a safe harbor for gay people.

Despite the fact that gay people cannot marry in most states, cannot obtain benefits afforded to most married couples and are not included in many states’ hate crime statutes, apparently the United States is a virtual paradise for homosexuals-an oasis of Sodom-like freedom. This idea must stem from the fact that most Americans do not lynch or murder gay people whenever they see them.

This idea that “God Hates Fags,” albeit taken to the extreme by these protestors, strikes to the heart of Americans’ intolerance and lack of understanding for those of a minority sexual orientation. Most people think that gay people do not deserve equal rights based on the idea that the Bible forbids the practice of homosexuality.

If the Bible forbids the practice of homosexuality and if that is the primary reason behind denying gay people equal protection of the law, then I am wondering what else the Bible forbids. Certainly if we take the Bible at its word for our laws regarding gay marriage and other equal protection issues, then we also must take the Bible literally for other laws.

My friend Cecil has to work on Sundays occasionally, and that, of course, is the Sabbath in our country. This is unacceptable according to the Bible, and Cecil ought to be executed. Exodus 35:2 reads, “Whosoever doeth work (on the Sabbath) shall be put to death.”

The recent teenage victim of a 39-year-old man charged with rape and bigamy in Brigham City should also be “pummeled by rocks” until she dies. According to Deuteronomy, all women who are victims of rape shall be put to death.

The Bible says that it’s OK for my brother to kill his 4-year-old son when he doesn’t clean up his toys, because Deuteronomy teaches that “the men of the city shall stone” all children who are disobedient to their parents.

When I was a kid, my family would eat dinner together. My sister would often talk on the phone all through dinner, constantly irritating my father. If only my dad had known that it was OK to sell her into slavery, as is prescribed in Exodus.

Leviticus teaches that men are not allowed to come into contact with a woman while she is in her period of “menstrual uncleanness.” I tried asking the woman sitting next to me on TRAX if she was going through her current menstrual cycle, but she was curiously offended by my question.

The point here is that if you are going to rely on the strict interpretation of the Bible for your beliefs on homosexuality, then you also have to rely on it for all of your beliefs-including the outrageous ones listed above.

People need to stop using the Bible to justify their bigotry. To purposefully and coldly deny a large group of Americans their civil rights based entirely on a book that justifies human slavery is ridiculous.