One of the bedrock principles of Anglo-Saxon conservatism was the belief that all people have a right to associate with whoever they wish, as long as it is not for criminal purposes. All rights have limitations so forbidding convicted criminals from associating with other criminals is a reasonable exception. In the modern age, people can get a restraining order to have the state prevent someone from associating with them. These are reasonable exceptions that have no impact on the lives of the law abiding citizen.
This presents a problem for fanatics as people have the ability to ignore them by refusing to be around them. The gays that go around harassing Christian bakers, for example, are simply using the power of the state to force themselves into the lives of those who would otherwise ignore them. The goal being to drive these people out of the public space, assuming they take their beliefs with them. This is not possible when people have freedom of association and it is respected by the state.
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