That said, I haven't waded into this portion of the comments till now because I understand Helen's depth of feeling on the matter and the impulse to hurl strong words at such times.  If you can't vent among friends, when can you?  It didn't seem the time to bicker over words.

I'm not gay, but I understand having your rights violated feels very, very personal.  Like an assault.  And I do feel that organized political 'violence' is more harsh than verbal insults.

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes