I’ve become quite lazy when it comes to writing columns. In fact, I haven’t written three in any three-month period for at least two years. I know that because that’s the minimum requirement to enter the column-writing category for the annual Wyoming Press Association Pacemaker Awards, a requirement I’ve failed to meet.

I think I’ve suffered from apathy — or, more accurately, I’ve embraced it at times. It’s a mindset that is surprisingly easy to slip into. I’ve got a list of excuses a mile long. But I won’t waste anyone’s time with those, because they are just that — excuses.

Whatever the case may be, it took a column that was as horrifying as it was infuriating to awaken the beast. It took a baffling column — which I knew better than to run without at least a few corrections (but didn’t) — to make my stomach churn, to make me think long and hard about how to respond and to eventually sit down, open Microsoft Word and try to set things straight.

Evanston’s Jonathan Lange seems to be obsessed with fighting against (or at least expressing his disapproval of) the LGBT community’s quest for equal rights. He’s not alone; I know that. And I’m certain he wasn’t the first to use the word “discrimination” in 100 percent the exact opposite of its definition. But he did, and I am to blame for not correcting it. 

Instead, he put the word “weddings” in quotation marks when referring to same-sex marriage, as if to say they’re not legitimate legal unions. They are, by the way, and they have been for years.

Much of his column was fine, but parts of it — riddled with apparent hatred — was not.

I don’t blame Lange; I think he’s a nice guy who is caught up in the national rhetoric and archaic belief systems that have allowed anyone to say whatever they want, over and over again, knowing full well that it’s complete B.S. After all, if our lunatic-in-chief can do it on a daily basis, others are bound to get sucked into the abyss.

Lange mentioned Jack Phillips, the Colorado baker who has refused to sell wedding cakes to anyone in the LGBT community. By doing so, Phillips has broken Colorado law, which says businesses cannot deny equal service to customers based on race, religion, nationality or sexual orientation. Lange claims that Phillips, who’s said his selective selling is based on his Christian beliefs, is a victim of discrimination.

I don’t know whether to laugh, shout or cry. I mean, it’s such a bizarre claim that it is laughable, but at the same time, it does make me angry … and very sad.

Lange and many others claim that if Phillips were to be forced to treat people equally, the baker would be “celebrating same-sex weddings.”

What a disconnect!

Am I celebrating such nonsense when I agreed to run Lange’s column on Tuesday? One that I wholeheartedly disagree with? Not a chance. I was just doing my job. And the Colorado baker would do well to do his job, too.

Why does the religious right always try to turn these things around as if God’s champion warrior heroes are always the victims? If someone knows, please fill me in. It really is beyond my level of comprehension.

Have they read the same Bible I’ve read? The one in which Jesus says, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself?” Or maybe I missed the part where Jesus added “unless thy neighbor is gay.”

“If thy neighbor is gay, feel free to disregard my commandments; in fact, use that as an opportunity to wildly call up down and down up, forgetting all logic and sense.”

I don’t wish to start a Bible battle; I’d surely lose. But there needs to be some common sense when we’re using ancient scripture to justify hateful behavior (even if doesn’t really justify it).

Further, what kind of religion would have a rule/law/commandment that says you’re not truly or fully living the religion unless you judge others, treat them as lesser citizens and refuse to treat them how you would like to be treated? 

I would argue that any religion that teaches such a thing is probably not going to get anyone past the pearly gates. 

I’m so tired of people in “traditional” marriages whining about same-sex marriages. What does it hurt? How does it affect you and your marriage?

Newsflash: It doesn’t.

If people believe that their marriage is superior to a same-sex marriage, so be it. You must be very proud of yourselves. If people believe their marriages are recognized by God and others aren’t … what does it even matter? Hold your heads high and “know” that God is on your side. Isn’t that enough? Or do you have to treat others poorly along the way?

If God is the judge, why do you care about these earthly “unions” anyway? 

Current language in laws and ordinances can hurt people in same-sex marriage. It can complicate legal parentage and custody. Updating language with a resolution or ordinance that changes “husband” and “wife” to “spouse” shouldn’t be any more controversial than when the Evanston City Council recently updated its language to liquor laws after the state legislature did the same.

Lange complains that new resolutions addressing sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) focus solely on LGBT rights and not others’ rights (including religious liberty). Well, maybe it’s because Americans have largely had religious freedom for many, many decades — some for centuries. 

The recent focus on LGBT rights is because that’s the group not being treated equally. Fights for religious freedom, women’s suffrage and the civil rights movement in the 1950s and ‘60s addressed the specific groups of people who were suffering discrimination at the time. Women and blacks still have quite a way to go to experience truly equal rights, but at least current laws don’t allow one to openly discriminate against either group. 

Lange pointed out how a spokesperson for PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) admitted that passing a resolution in Casper is better than pushing for an ordinance that would presumably fail. The PFLAG spokesperson was content with seeking a resolution rather than an ordinance, or local law, because it gives LGBT people a “win.”

What’s wrong with that? You have to start somewhere. It’s no secret that the effort is to “push the agenda,” as Lange put it. Of course it’s to push the agenda! And the agenda has been crystal clear from the start — treat people equally; treat people with love instead of hate; treat people the way you would like to be treated. No one is asking for special treatment — just equal treatment.

But the Golden Rule (which, I believe, was handed down by Jesus) often falls on deaf ears when the religious right goes on hateful and hurtful tirades against people they should instead love and try to understand.

It just doesn’t make any sense that our nation has progressed to the point of allowing same-sex marriage, but many cities and states still allow those in same-sex marriages to be treated as second- or third-class citizens.

I call upon local religious leaders to stop pretending you’re the victims when people of whom you disapprove make steps toward equality.

I call upon the great members of this community to stand up and live the Golden Rule.

And I call upon the Evanston City Council to consider and approve an ordinance (or resolution), supporting equality for all citizens in this community, gay or otherwise.

America is chock full of people who disagree with each other — people who disagree with what others do or how they live. It doesn’t mean we get to treat each other poorly or treat anyone as less than equal.