My newspaper column this week is about the state’s new gay rights law and the right wing’s false objection that it infringes on the rights of religious institutions.

This is a legitimate question because religious liberty is specifically spelled out in the U.S. Constitution. And it’s also legitimate because if the General Assembly just passed, and the governor signed, an unconstitutional bill on behalf of such a controversial minority, there could be hell to pay at the polls next year. Even though several Republicans voted for the bill, the GOP could use the issue to pound even the Democrats who didn’t vote for it, arguing their party is too radical to be trusted with the reins of government. This will happen anyway, but toss in an outrageous infringement on the freedom of churches and religious institutions, and … oy.

Still, this church issue is much ado about nothing.

Meanwhile, the Southern Illinoisan’s Jim Muir writes about the controversy over a PBS episode of “Buster the Rabbit,” wherein Buster and his friends visit a Vermont family that’s headed by two moms (who are never, by the way, identified as lesbians).

What once was considered perverse and bizarre is now considered the norm. And what once was looked at as outlandish, unheard of and over-the-top is now considered to merely be routine.

This has happened because we have failed to speak up and voice our opinion. The second step in this erosion takes place when every person who has a differing view is labeled as homophobic, judgmental, moralistic and bigoted and, of course let’s not forget the gay crowd’s pet word, intolerant. Not wanting to meet the wrath of this group, who might be the most intolerant crowd, most people simply shut up. And that’s allowed the erosion to take place, one small step, or bunny hop, at a time.

Well, label me all the above because I’m going to speak up and say the gay agenda-pushers are going way too far when they start putting lesbians and homosexuals in kid’s cartoons.

Google “Buster the Rabbit” and Muir’s column is the sixth most popular result, so it definitely got some play on the Internets. Understandably, Muir received several letters about his column, including one from a woman who described herself as a “soon-to-be mother in a same-sex household.” Muir responded to her complaints thusly:

This comment is simply another tired ploy by the gay community to liken its cause to the civil rights movement, which is insulting at best and absurd at worst. And let me also say her allegation that individuals have been denied equal rights concerning marriage is unequivocally wrong. […]

(I)t seems that proponents of gay marriage really don’t want equal rights — they already have equal rights just like the rest of us — they want special rights. This argument would be comparable to a 16-year-old screaming discrimination because he or she can’t vote or a 12-year-old claiming their equal rights have been denied because they can’t obtain a driver’s license.