Kristof's (Latest) False Dichotomy

A couple of days ago, Nicholas Kristof presented a rather peculiar false dichotomy:

I've argued often that gay marriage should be legal and that conservative Christians should show a tad more divine love for homosexuals.

But there's a corollary. If liberals demand that the Christian right show more tolerance for gays and lesbians, then liberals need to be more respectful of conservative Christians.

I'm not sure why the issues are interconnected - can anybody fill me in on the elusive parts of Kristof's reasoning?

It is also interesting to note that the points of "disrespect" shown by the left toward "conservative Christians" is not based upon religion per se - many people on the left are devoutly religious Christians - but is about a particular interpretation of religion. And much of the "disrespect" is not even over conservative religiosity, but instead is a reaction to those sects which advance hatred toward homosexuals, hatred toward Islam, and the notion that anybody who hasn't been "saved" in accord with a particular interpretation of the Bible is destined for Hell, in the name of Christian religion. Isn't Kristof actually arguing that the political left needs to be more tolerant of intolerance?

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