Imagine claiming that people being given a freedom previously denied to them is somehow "oppressing" the people who didn't want to grant that freedom. (Freeing the slaves "oppressed" slave owners by that "logic." ) Conservatives claim to stand for freedom, yet they sure seem determined to strip people's freedoms from them. Anti-Equality Leaders Demand Congressional Conservatives Stop Bill Protecting Freedom to Marry: [rightwingwatch.org]
The caveat is that they are only determined to strip away freedoms from "those who are not like them", never from themselves and those like them. All about tribalism and self service.
I came to realize some years ago that in the mind of a conservative, extending rights that they enjoy to others is actually seen as a threat. Conservatives don’t fully accept the concept of equality.
Well duh, conservatives have never believed in any kind of equality, it's always about preserving the privilege, wealth and power that they either already have and enjoy, or what they have delusions about eventually getting, once their time comes, according to the myths they believe in regarding opportunity and upward mobility....
You have to be a real POS to want to decide who other people are allowed to love.