Some opponents of the law have focused on the fact that the law was so poorly written that it threatens not just to disenfranchise gay people, but unmarried straight couples as well. Here’s the thing about discrimination: It inevitably overshoots its target. As emerging research on its psychosocial effect shows, discrimination hurts those doing the oppressing, too. Anti-gay prejudice robs communities of talent. It engenders fear and distrust between different groups of people—in this case, between communities of faith and gay people, racial groups (an explicit aim of same-sex marriage opponents), and rural and urban residents. It walls off enriching experiences with people who are not like you. Whether you’re gay or straight, it perverts the notion of citizenship as contingent on sexual orientation.
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