"My statement equating repeal of [Proposition] 8 with the coming of the End Times was neither literal nor ironic..."

"... it was a description of how some folks – not me – feel about gay marriage.... I believe intolerance comes from fear, and these folks are genuinely scared. I believe in a God who loves everyone... and my faith tells me to do my best to also love everyone. Everyone: gay or straight, stridently gay, self-righteously faithful.... I may disagree with someone's most fervently held belief, but I will not hate them.... I am damn sorry.... If I could repeat the evening, I would make a clearer distinction between a set of beliefs I abhor, and my human sympathy for the folks who hold them … In this controversy, [my position] means speaking for Christians with opinions I in no way share about homosexuality. Will I endorse them? Never. Will I disavow them? Never."

Michelle Shocked explains herself.

This is a difficult position to take — attempting to be a bridge. Almost everyone gets mad at you. But that's what makes the bridge so important.