by Byrne Fone

About the author: Byrne Fone, professor emeritus at City University in New York, is the author of several books on homosexuality, including Homophobia: A History, from which this excerpt was taken.

The new confidence and social visibility of homosexuals in American life have by no means conquered homophobia. Indeed, it stands as the last acceptable prejudice. In July 1993, Newsweek ran a report on American sexual diversity, in which homosexuality was positively discussed. One outraged reader responded: “Homosexuality is abnormal behavior. In no way, shape, or form is it a moral equivalent of heterosexuality. If this makes me a homophobe, I wear the label with pride.” She was not alone.

Homosexuals and the Church

As activist gay people battled homophobia, homophobes fought the social acceptance of homosexuality. Determined to protest any...