When Christian evangelist Franklin Graham and hate-group leader Tony Perkins are calling you a sinner, it’s probably because you made the mistake of being kind. That’s what happened with singer Amy Grant, who received harsh condemnation from the bigots for an act of Jesus-like generosity.

Grant was recently awarded the Kennedy Center Honors, an award give for “lifetime artistic achievements,” making her the first contemporary Christian singer to receive it. It’s a huge deal and a chance to reminisce over what she’s achieved in her decades-long career. There are multiple Grammys, three multi-platinum albums, six No. 1 hits, and more than two dozen Dove Awards (a.k.a. Christian Grammys).

But what the haters noticed in a Washington Post profile of Grant was one section involving her niece:

In recent years, she has voiced support for the LGBTQ community, where she has had a large fan base for decades. Now, she talks about her and [husband Vince] Gill’s plans to host her niece’s wedding at their farm, which is her family’s “first bride and bride” nuptials. Grant recalls her reaction when she learned her niece had come out: What a gift to our whole family to just widen the experience of our whole family.

“Honestly, from a faith perspective, I do always say, ‘Jesus, you just narrowed it down to two things: love God and love each other,’ ” Grant said. “I mean, hey — that’s pretty simple.”

    She’s hosting a same-sex wedding ceremony… and that’s it. That’s what set the bigots off. Notice that Grant doesn’t even say if she personally supports marriage equality or LGBTQ rights in general; she’s just doing her niece a favor because it’s a way to express love.

But Graham was furious: