Should homophobia be illegal?

Discrimination should be, but you can't really police a phobia... I mean, it's just something that people feel. It's regrettable that they do, but I think the best way to prevent it is to provide more education and show more examples of tolerance and love.

I think lack of education is a big problem when it comes to homophobia. Fear of the unknown is a big theme in humans. It's not necessarily someone's "fault" for not understanding homosexuality and for hating it out of fear and lack of exposure to it.

The best way to help get rid of this problem, in my opinion, is to go to the cause, moreso than focusing on the symptoms. Hate-crimes are terrible, but teaching people not to hate will go a lot farther than punishing them for hating.

Hm, I don't know. I'm against honophobes, but where would you draw the line? If it's someone who feels uncomfortable in the presence of gays, I don't think he should be punished, since there's little you can do about that. However, insulting or assaulting a gay person should be illegal (and it's already illegal)

Discrimination because of sexuality should be illegal!

No.

You should never criminalize thoughts.
once you start that then your government will truly dictate to you what you can and cannot say.

this is why freedom of speech should never be limited

Well there's freedom of speech, and then there's abuse and violence. The latter should not be tolerated.

The homophobes of today are the racists of yesterday.

You lack the ability to imagine yourself in another's position (empathy) if you think it's okay to discriminate against someone for their sexuality. What if that was you? I love how I get a down vote for thinking people deserve equal rights. We've been here before. People were discriminated for their skin color, and now that discrimination has decreased drastically. It will be the same for homophobia. Grow up and start accepting people. We're fucking adults man. I'm a straight guy, I have one gay friend and I actually hate him. Not because he's gay, but because he's just an asshole. Sexuality has nothing to do with it. I have no reasons to be pro gay other than it should be self evident that people should all have equal rights. Man, I just don't understand people. Why is empathy so hard for some people?

Fuck no. Im fine with gays but i can certainly see why some think its wrong.

Im not a homophobe I just really hate parades.

For homosexuals everything seems to be hate speech nowadays... Even if you just say that "I don't care what they are", it would still be considered hate speech. :/

You really can't punish people for their phobias...

homophobes are different to gay haters. phobias are generally not things that people can control, like an OCD. gay haters do it by choice. so no i dont think it should be illegal because that is just like saying that arachnophobia should be illegal because thats people discriminating against spiders.

but dont go down that same path of the "haters". if you hate the haters then you are no better than they are. just let them live their own life with their own opinions and you live your own life with your own opinions. also haters enjoy being haters because of the attention they get. if you ignore them then they get bored and move on.

but i think people have the right to think what they like. if they hate gays or blacks or eating fish then that is their decision and no one should try to control how other people think, whether you think it is right or wrong. but it is a different story if they act on their hate, like gay bashing or enslaving someone because of the colour of their skin. thoughts and actions are different things.

Actually, in lots of places discrimination of any kind is illegal

I mean, people are allowed to hold up a sign saying "black people will burn in Hell", and the ability for people to hold up signs saying "gay people will burn in Hell" is the same. Freedom of speech is one thing, but I mean have a heart. If a Christian saw a sign saying negative things about them they would not find it acceptable. I mean it's rude and homophobia needs to stop. They're not afraid, they're just ignorant. They pick an choose what they want to read out of the bible and then leave out other things.

People should be free to have their own opinion.

discrimination yes (getting jobs, education, public services, abuse, etc). homophobia... is just something we have to deal with outselves.

And who would be the judge of that?

Definition of hate speech: someone who verbalizes any opinion different than mine.

As someone who is bisexual the idea of "hate speech" makes me I'll. And I don't mean someone who is saying something nasty, I mean the idea that hate speech could actually exist. Making hate speech a crime will 1 only lead to more violence, and 2 is stupid. If you don't like what someone is saying get a thicker skin.

Yes i do, but adjoin whites also. Anyone can animosity anyone for any reason. I myself don't like blacks, not because i was accomplished to abhorrence but because it's a accustomed aptitude for me. I wont abjure my close apparatus for anyone elses comfort. Racism was fabricated to ascendancy and blasting humans from cogent chargeless anticipation adjoin anyone is just addition form. It will assuredly advance to something far worse. Think alfresco of the politically actual box, it's ALL about ascendancy and im not fucking affairs it.

Should the color green be illegal?

Everyone but the white males complain about descrimination, even though they have feminists and angry black people targeting them.

But in all honesty, no. Homophobia shouldn't be illegal. I mean, think of it this way. A man grabs a woman's ass, she punches him; she's fighting for her rights. But if a man grabs my ass and I punch his lights out, I'm a homophobe. Men would be getting fined or jailed for retaliating to sexual harrassment. I for one had my ass slapped by a homosexual for months in college. If I was to hit him for it like a woman would a man in that situation, then I would be to blame, and it wouldn't be thecase of "fighting for my heterosexual right to not be sexually harrassed by homosexuals"

All in all, we have a choice to hate things, it's our right. Acting in violent ways towards people is not legal, though. So people should be allowed to have their own beliefs, but physical violence forno reason but their beliefs should and is illegal.

But, what about religion? Religions would be considered illegal due to a lot of themagainst homosexuals.

Is it unfair for homosexuals? Yes.
Should it be illegal for being someone's belief? No.