Christians hate gay people. In other news, sun rises in east

I lambaste Christianity a lot on this blog in ways that vary in intensity depending on my mood or level of fury. But I think it's important to point out that when I label somebody an insane religious zealot or talk about how some believers are slowly ruining this culture, I'm talking about an extreme segment of Christians. I'm talking about the hysterical fundamentalists who use their beliefs as a weapon to bring others down, meanwhile pissing on the good things about Christianity, such as charity and the sense of community that it brings many people. When I opine on Christianity as if it were the last stop in a downward spiral of reason, I'm mostly talking about people like Republican Rep. Sally Kern of Oklahoma.

Most people haven't heard of Ms. Kern. This is because she's just another irrelevant member of an increasingly corrupt and misguided political system perpetuated by lawmakers who actually believe everybody should be forced to live under a fascist religious order. She's also a state lawmaker, which means she can't do much damage beyond her state -- Oklahoma -- and who really cares about Oklahoma anyway. Not me.

However, the power she does wield lies in her access to a high-profile forum that allows her to further the myth that homosexuals are a religious abomination -- hell-bound, immoral people who should be shunned from our society, all thanks to "God's word." She cites this alleged "word" by an invisible man in the sky with the fervency of Pat Robertson at a KKK rally. Her latest diatribe is about as subtle as a circus clown:

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A YouTube audio clip of a state lawmaker's screed against homosexuality, which she called a bigger threat than terrorism, has outraged gay activists and brought death threats rolling in.

"The homosexual agenda is destroying this nation, OK, it's just a fact," Rep. Sally Kern said recently to a gathering of fellow Republicans outside the Capitol.

"Studies show no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted, you know, more than a few decades. So it's the death knell in this country.

"I honestly think it's the biggest threat that our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam, which I think is a big threat," she said.

Yes, that's right. She just compared homosexuality to terrorism.

I find it particularly disgusting that a U.S. lawmaker -- somebody who participates in the vital and theoretically honorable enterprise of setting rules for our society -- uses her time and energy to degrade an entire bloc of Americans. Instead of trying to uplift and unite us, she uses her Bible and her backward thinking for oppression and fear. She also lies through her teeth -- "(homosexuals) have the most suicides," she says -- and sets America back generations every time she opens her mouth. Her vitriolic rhetoric against people she's never met, coupled with her efforts to clamp down on individual freedom and sexuality, is something that is utterly unforgivable in any enlightened culture. If this is supposed to be God's ambassador, then pardon my bluntness, but this religion is totally screwed.

I'm really floored every time I hear this caliber of hate speech from politicians. Every single time. I guess I never learn, really, because it never ends. Yet I'm constantly surprised that this can happen. I just can't fathom or accept that people like this are allowed to wield power. I don't understand how these people can harbor such an intense hatred toward others and still be allowed to participate in government. After all, if people can't be free to love, then what good is freedom?

But don't worry. She's not gay bashing. She's just concerned for those poor homosexuals who (apparently) are offing themselves in record numbers and spreading disease like a plague. She knows this because God told her; it certainly wasn't science.