I fully believe that the road to tolerance and understanding can only be taken through an open and honest discourse. It's one of the reasons why I will always be in favor of freedom of thought, speech and expression.
Repression and censorship never solve anything. The most it does is to sweep the problem under the rug outside of superficial view, but it's still there. When society in general deems certain views to be unacceptable to even express and not just wrong, it's doing just that. It's not dealing with the problem itself, just attempting to hide it. This means that those who have said views never end up changing them, just hide them for fear of rejection and continue to spread them through different means, creating more conflict. The issue remains unchallenged for the most part, and the side of the minority can (accurately) play the victim card, as its views are not being even acknowledged.
Overreactions like the one mentioned in the first post doesn't do any favors to its cause either. Condemning an action without taking into account the intention behind it and the degree of the "harm" done does not make the punishment fit the crime. And when you're arguing for tolerance, being intolerant to disagreement makes you look like a hypocrite. The only way to truly argue for tolerance is to practice it, which doesn't stop you from disagreeing and supporting your cause.
By the way, I happen to be completely in favor of homosexual rights, and I was glad to see them recently get the right to get married in the same way as heterosexual couples in my country (Uruguay). You don't have to be in the side of "conservatives" or the "right" to realize how "political correctness" can be a problem. We are all, at one point or another, in the side of the minority or majority. The question is, in my opinion, whether you truly believe in freedom of speech/expression or not.
