Christianity and Gay Marriage

Joe Katzman has a post where he makes the every-so-true, but not often enough heard comment that "It's possible not to approve of somebody's choices and to hold fast to that moral stand - but still treat them with love, respect, and understanding as a human being."
I couldn't agree more, and if you just look at the first few responses in the comments section of that post you will see some good examples of people who really get that concept.
In fact some are so good that I don't feel too much need to comment on this myself.

Ever gay out there can expect my friendship, my sympathy, my compassion, and if I can offer it my aid. I can do no less. My sins are as great as they, and yet I was - and am - forgiven. I understand what its like to be broken inside. I understand what it is like to fail. I understand what its like to be lonely and rejected. My Savior understands these things too.

There may be some path out there which starts with getting approval and acceptance and doesn't involve change. It might seem like an easy path to walk on. It's easy to think that what we really want is just for someone to say "That's OK." everytime something happens. I don't know where that path goes and I fear to find out. There is only one Way, one Truth, and one Life.

You can have my unconditional love, as best as I am able in broken failing self. You can have my Father's unconditional love, which never fails. What you can't have is unconditional approval, and until people realize that unconditional approval isn't love, then everybodies hearts are going to stay broken.

Amen.
Move on, though, as the discussion quickly degrades after a few comments.
Sure, there are probably Christians out there who harbor a certain amount of hate for gays, and there are definitely gays who feel like Christians hate them because of the rhetoric. But the above is much closer to the truth about how Christians should be approaching this issue.
My pastor, while practically breaking down in tears one day, admonished our congregation with the words, "Perhaps the reason that the homosexual community thinks we don't love them is that by all appearances, we don't." (Paraphrase).
I wrote a little bit about the issue of Gay Marriage a while back. This discussion doesn't change a thing. The issue of whether we should just let society OK what we consider sinful is not cut and dry, despite the fact that we can love gay people. Society and government represents who we are as a people, and as a people, Christians disapprove.