Gay activist groups and Democrats are ripping high-ranking Republican Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) to shreds for expressing his distaste for "homosexual acts" during a recent AP interview. Santorum added that he has "no problem with homosexuality."

Santorum also made the profound observation that homosexual acts are contrary to family values (presumably, he was referring to the value of being fruitful and multiplying).

For this, he will have hell to pay.

Already, various gay rights groups are pumping their fists at Santorum, making the ubiquitous Trent Lott comparisons and calling on Senate leaders to oust the Pennsylvania representative. Never mind that most Americans agree with the statement. Anyone who expresses an idea about a group based on ethnicity or sexual orientation will automatically be accused of spewing hate and fanning the flames of discrimination.

This is dangerous territory because words are linked to thoughts. And the ability to freely express our thoughts - even the not so pleasant ones - is part of what gives our democracy meaning. Also consider that gay rights groups have a free pass to flaunt family values, but supporters of traditional family values cannot talk about how the homosexual lifestyle threatens the nuclear family structure. This is not a free exchange of ideas. It is censorship along the lines of political correctness.

Examples of overzealous political correctness are everywhere. Radio pundit Laura Schlessinger was recently dubbed a hate speech monger for verbalizing her disagreement with the homosexual lifestyle. In Indiana, Liz Anderson was ordered to stop wishing her co-workers a "blessed day," because it was deemed offensive. In Florida, a Christian group was ordered to remove a posted ad for a seminar about "addressing, understanding and preventing homosexuality in youth."

Will there come a time when our priests and spiritual advisers must avoid discussing the Bible's take on homosexuality for fear of being branded a hate monger? Apparently, that time may have already come in Canada, where Jerry Falwell reports that he must censor any remarks regarding homosexuality and partial-birth abortion on the Canadian broadcast of his "Old Time Gospel Hour."

This example is particularly alarming, because it shows how political correctness is eroding some of the most basic and essential foundations of our society. The very mission of our churches is to facilitate enlightenment through study of biblical passages. Therefore, biblical passages should never be compromised by political correctness. These passages must be considered sacrosanct if they are to have any meaning whatsoever. After all, religion derives much of its meaning from its ability to provide us with an absolute moral point of reference that helps us discern between right and wrong and move beyond a strictly relativistic perspective. When we begin bending the word of God to mesh with our sense of political correctness, we defeat the purpose of religion.

This is what our culture is coming to. We are being conditioned to feel guilty for having time-tested values. No longer can our spiritual leaders quote from the Bible without having hell to pay from the PC police. No longer can our professors freely express their ideas on campus, without having to worry about being fired for felonious insensitivity.

Our sense of political correctness is replicating throughout the culture, guiding what we think and say. This is alarming. As George Orwell observed, "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."

Now don't get me wrong. I am deeply sensitive to the perils of discrimination. But I do not believe that political correctness should keep us from supporting what is right. Shall we continue to promote what is politically correct even though we know it undermines our social and religious conventions? Should we repress our own thoughts on such important matters?

All Santorum really said was that a loving union between man and wife is the bedrock of our society. How sad that our society now quivers at such a statement.