The editorial-page editor of the New York Times wrote a piece on the “Silliest Things Republican Contenders Are Saying This Week.” The entry for Senator Rubio?

“We’ve reached the point in our society where if you do not support same-sex marriage you are labeled a homophobe and a hater.” And: “After they are done going after individuals, the next step is to argue that the teachings of mainstream Christianity, the catechism of the Catholic Church, is hate speech and there’s a real and present danger.” This is cookie-cutter right-wing nonsense, predicated on the notion that if you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, or advocate on behalf of those Americans, you are anti-religious or more specifically un-Christian. It’s a lie. Mr. Rubio might want to acquaint himself with Ireland. Or he could just read this column by Frank Bruni.

Rosenthal is being nutty. Rubio wasn’t saying that supporters of same-sex marriage are anti-Christian. Nor was he denying that many supporters of same-sex marriage are Christians themselves. He was saying 1) that the view that marriage is the union of a man and a woman is a mainstream teaching of Christianity (as opposed, to say, the teaching of a fringe within Christianity), and 2) that many supporters of same-sex marriage view this teaching as bigoted. Neither of these points is silly; both of them are indisputably true. In fact both Rosenthal and Bruni are good examples of the second claim’s truth. If Rubio reads this item of Rosenthal’s, it will not exactly allay his concerns that some supporters of same-sex marriage are inclined to treat the opponents unfairly.