There is often a large discrepancy between what people say that they believe, and what they actually believe. In a 'Christian middle-class family', it may be th

There is often a large discrepancy between what people say that they believe, and what they actually believe. In a 'Christian middle-class family', it may be that everyone believe that everyone else is against homosexuality. The priest says it is a mortal sin, and no-one has said they disagreed. Secretly the kids might think homosexuality-as-sin is an disgusting idea, the wife might think 'of course gays rights should be respected', and the father might feel 'whatever, I don't care what people do in their bedrooms'. In this example the personal opinion has shifted in favour of homosexuality, however the public opinion has not caught up yet. To break the stalemate of everyone holding their potentially-controversal-but-not-actually opinion to themselves, some external nudge might be needed. A protest might be what brings the topic up, so that peoples actual opinions can come forth. Such outing can have ripple effects. Kid talk about their family fight-which-wasnt to other kids, and find out their families also are in support. Soon everyone in the church is collectively rolling their eyes when priest harps on gays. Eventually the priest picks up the vibe and stops mentioning homosexuality as a sin altogether.