Thank you lola, for making this comment. A little anecdote:
My dad is something of a raging homophobe. I’ve known this for a while, when he would make comments to my brother like, “don’t turn gay.” I was over at his place having dinner last Sunday when the news came on showing the footage of the gay couples getting married in Massachusetts. He just made some kind of derisive snort but no other comments. I thought about asking why he made that noise, but decided a friendly dinner like that was no place to openly challenge his beliefs. I think his beliefs may be based somewhat in the traditional gender roles like he and his wife (my stepmom) have. Of course, they didn’t have any more kids, so I guess their roles can’t be that traditional, but you did make me think about where he might be coming from.