No matter who steps forward to say they’ve been the target of discrimination, no matter what studies find, no matter how obvious it is that people are targeted because of their sexual orientation, some people aren’t going to believe it.

And some people don’t care that homosexuals face discrimination. In fact, they hope that they do. These are the people who are terrified that a gay person might be their kids’ or grandkids’ teacher; that a transvestite might do story time at the library; that their sinister plans to ensnare young children might somehow turn their kids gay.

To them, homosexuals aren’t regular people; they are a threat. They need to be pushed back into the closet, ostracized and, it they continue their evil ways, jailed. This is not an exaggeration. Otherwise kind and generous people have told us that they would support the prosecution of homosexuals.

So tell us again: If some of the proponents of Question 1 say that Christians have an obligation to discriminate against gays and that their sexual activities should be against the law and punishable with a prison sentence, how could it be possible that discrimination is a hoax or a myth?

Gays, lesbians and transgender people have to make a difficult choice. They can live openly as themselves and face hostility and even hate, or they can hide who and what they are and live a “regular” life. There’s evidence aplenty that the decision to live as an openly gay person can have serious consequences, including being denied a job, a room in a hotel or becoming the target of harassment.

Question 1 must be rejected. We have an obligation to protect people living in the state from legalized discrimination. Without the anti-discrimination law that Question 1 seeks to overturn, that’s exactly what we’ve got.