Don't kid yourself. It's still a hate word.

This is how backward Huffington Post and most other media are today. In writing an article about the Westboro Baptist Church, decrying their bigotry, they, themselves opened with this totally offensive and inappropriate paragraph:

The vehemently anti-queer group, which infamously protests the funerals of American soldiers and the concerts of super stars like Cher because it believes those events promote pro-queer sentiment, found itself the butt of a Thanksgiving prank.

The "q" word is still considered as offensive as the "n" word and should never be used. And though a small minority of gays, for some inexplicable reason, like being called by a long-established demeaning and pejorative term, the majority do not think of themselves as queer, which also means, odd, weird, worthless, counterfeit, questionable, suspicious, eccentric, unconventional, mildly insane, and touched.

Note: Law professor, David Groshoff has written several articles trying to justify the use of the "q" word. David Groshoff is an idiot.