When a person says that they do not want to "be forced to accept" homosexuality, what do they mean exactly?

On the issue of homosexuality, there is a clash of values. Christians sincerely believe that homosexual practice is a sin (i.e. morally wrong), and secularists think homosexuality is natural (and therefore morally encouraged - a desire which should be freely expressed, rather than suppressed or denied). Neither of these is an objective position - both are equally premised in faith.

When Christians bully homosexuals (which I believe is inconsistent with Biblical faith), it is readily recognised as intolerance. But when Christians are bullied out of the argument as "bigots" and "homophobes", religious intolerance of Christianity is often justified, ironically, under the guise of tolerance.

If tolerance were truly the standard, Christians would be permitted to express their sincerely held faith positions without being vilified.

Those with secular values often fail to comprehend the concept of tolerance. Tolerance is only tolerance when it incorporates actually tolerating positions with which we disagree. Only tolerating positions we agree with makes ISIL and Al Qaeda bastions of tolerance.

Consider the recent example of the clerk imprisoned for not giving out marriage licenses to gay couples. A new law placed her in a position where she was forced to either surrender her employment, or act contrary to her sincere conscience before her God - under threat of imprisonment. Rather than finding a reasonable solution, the powers that be had her locked up. Now if those seeking a license were truly tolerant, they could have respected her beliefs and sought their licenses from a different office (pretty much from any other clerks office in the country). But instead they chose to back her into a corner.

Those with Christian (or traditional) values should have as much right to express their opinions and promote their values through democracy, as the secular faith perspective - without being subjected to religious intolerance.

I would think that anyone who says they dont want to be 'forced to accept' it, means they are feeling pressure from the gay community, the media and others to get behind it. Pressure to not only accept it as a fact of life- like it or not- but to embrace it or be labeled a close-minded bigot.

I guess thats why many atheists are always complaining that God is being 'shoved down their throats'. By rejecting God, they are going against the majority grain and sometimes being treated harshly because of it.

Well now, homosexuality is being 'shoved down everyones throat' and as a society, we are feeling the pressure to go along- like it or not. And those who dont like it are sometimes being treated harshly because they disagree. (Ironically, just like the atheist)

Although I will never agree that homosexuality is just another good and valid choice, I will remember to treat my atheist brothers and sisters most graciously in the future:)

When a person says that they do not want to "be forced to accept" homosexuality, what do they mean exactly?

~~~ They want to be 'free' to persecute anyone with who they disagree, exactly!

Fear.

It is the single most daunting thing for a person who has never ever met someone unlike them to be asked or to be told to do by the media. Some media outlets like FoxNews have almost achieved critical mass in terms of bigotry. Much of what they say is hate speech...unfortunately, they are international and there's not much anyone can do to stop them...they are teaching kids, teenagers adults to hate others...just because...so by someone saying "I dont want to be forced" they are parakeeting what someone else said about someone else being gay...

Don't believe everything you hear...and don't practice bigotry...that label sticks for life...

Many of those people are xenophobic although not always. They fear the unknown and they think things that are not true -- in the Air Force there's an official term for it -- "rationalization" -- you believe something is true in your mind so you try to rationalize to others, because you believe it must be true...it's a sort of one size fits all mental disorder...

To be honest, it's a mental condition that can have serious consequences on not only that person, but affects everyone around them...especially your kids !

The problem is...with rationalization there is scope. But, some people will push the envelope of hatred further and further inevitably until they and other people have rationalized some other fear as well -- take Kim Davis...most conservatives think she's being jailed because of her religion when it was NOT the case...that's a case of "rationalization" by conservative republican media...they actually got people to believe something that was based on a lie...and they could do it for any number of different reasons to get you to vote for something you thought was for the common good, but actually benefited the rich instead...it happens a lot in politics...

Take for example gay or transgender people. Many people have no idea what either of them are, so they do comparisons -- comparing them to dogs like they do on FoxNews or trying to pass off that LGBT and gender identity people have something somehow inherently sexually wrong with the way they think, when in fact psychiatrists now KNOW that gender identity is real -- it actually exists between ones ears, NOT sexually...

Every single person has this kind of bias and some people have it really bad. Don't believe me ? Ok, here's a test.

You have a same sex friend...which one of you is more feminine and who is the female in the relationship ?

What do you think of when you hear the word leader ?

What do you think of when you hear the word feminine ?

What do you think of when see the colors pink and blue ?

Gender identity...and gay identity...is self perceived...your BRAIN tells you either "I'm a girl" or "I'm a guy" and there can be as many different variations on theme as there are stars in the sky. As for gay people, they simply have an affection for same sex relationships, there's NOTHING bad about it. It's just different. Unfortunately, for many people they see the world as either black or white and gender as either male or female so we've got checkboxes on HR forms that say "Sex" and then say -- "pick your gender" or "orientation"... so what's a transgender person or gay person to do...when HR doesn't know the difference how will they treat me and what about my doctor ?

I've actually had a doctor -- a female where I live treat me roughly as a transgendered person, simply because she didn't like them....fortunately, she is no longer there as a direct result...

Being gay and or transgender is NOT a state where anyone is forced to be that way at any single moment...they have been that way all of their lives. Who knows why ? It's just a fact of life...get used to it. They are humans being just like anyone else...just a little different than what you might consider "normal"...ever thought of that ?

Simple. They do not want to be in a society where homosexuals are normal. He prefers the past where homosexuals in their ghetto were normal, but nowhere else.

Society has expanded in the last half century to exclude groups that were previous excluded. They object.

It is failure to tolerate.

It is not personal it is held for any person in any group that in the past was not normal. People with mobility problems and people with mental illness taking fuller roles in society make for the same reaction.

The solution I propose is that they have their own ghettos where they are normal and homosexuals are not; society will remain a place where both are normal.

It's been funny to see how good 'Christians' have been claiming that they would be forced into gay marriages and their churches would be forced to do them... LOL

They were willing to claim any nonsense to stop something that will have no effect on their marriages or their lives... but the god they can't seem to produce is against it... LOL

IMHO

It's their attempt to justify their persecution of homosexuals by claiming it's an attack on their religion.

No one can be forced to accept anything they don't believe in.

God gave us the ability to make choices, so we should not attempt to force others about homosexuality or other topics.

By "forced to accept" it means, to endure attempts to portray individuals who don't accept homosexual behavior with a positive and affirming attitude as bigots, "homophobes", "haters", "religitards", "Christards" and other derogatory names: pressure from repeated and concerted efforts that paint homosexualtiy as normal, natural and morally acceptable; and those who refues to accept it as such, are politically incorrect and have opinions not worthy of any consideration. In short its a big peer pressure thing.