Jonathan Rauch in The Daily last month:

... In 2008, California’s voters approved Proposition 8, which rescinded court-ordered same-sex marriage. Some angry gay activists then boycotted or protested businesses that employed Prop 8 supporters, even if all the supporters did was donate $100.

We don’t know how many people actually lost jobs because of these heavy-handed tactics. Probably very few. But never mind; the stratagem became the story. “Prop 8 Foes Turn to ‘Blacklist’ Tactics,” shouted a USA Today headline. Justified or not, fear spread in conservative circles that getting on the wrong side of gay marriage could cost you your job. “People tell us that their livelihoods have been threatened solely because of their public advocacy opposing same-sex marriage,” said Maggie Gallagher, founder of the National Organization for Marriage.

“Fine,” say some gay rights activists. “If they’re going to be bigots, they should be afraid to speak out.” Wrong. What the gay-rights movement has always really stood for is a country where we can all express our identities and convictions without fear: a country without closets, gay or straight.