Why is the media giving megaphones to anti-equality hate-groups?

In my hometown of Springfield, Missouri, we will soon be voting on whether or not to repeal the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination ordinance – known locally as SOGI. There has been a back-and-forth in the media, mostly in the form of op-eds in the local paper. This local issue has got me thinking about a larger issue: why do we give a voice to those who advance prejudice?