I have long believed that radical activists would defeat themselves by overplaying their hand, either by going too far with their demands or by trying to bully their opponents into submission. We are watching this happen on a regular basis already in 2015, which I have called “the year of pushback.”

It happened last week in Charlotte, North Carolina, to the shock of the activists and to the consternation of the Charlotte Observer.

An “anti-discrimination” bill was brought before the city council with the expectation that the bill would easily pass, since Charlotte was a “progressive” city and, like the other big cities in America, Charlotte would certainly embrace a bill that simply added sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression to the city’s current anti-discrimination laws.

The problem was that passing the bill would mean making all public bathrooms and locker rooms in the city gender neutral to accommodate those who identified as transgender, a radical step with all kinds of implications and potential abuses. (There were also concerns that the bill would end up discriminating against people of faith.)

More than 120 people signed up to speak the night of the vote (I was one of the speakers, and we were given two minutes each), and tens of thousands of emails were sent to council members, making this the most divisive and hotly debated bill in memory.

After several hours of testimony, the council members voted to strike the bathroom part of the bill, since it was too extreme for some of them who supported the overall bill. But when the final vote was taken, the bill was defeated by a vote of 6-5, since two of the most liberal council members voted against the bill they wanted to pass because they would not vote for it unless the bathroom part was included.

The radicals overplayed their hand, going beyond the realm of common moral sensibility, yet the position of LGBT activists after the event remained the same: We will not leave our transgender siblings behind; we want gender neutral bathrooms in the city.

Frankly, I don’t see that happening any time soon (or, hopefully, ever).

There is only so far Americans will go in the name of tolerance, and this is a place most Americans are not willing to go.

The Observer was embarrassed by the vote, claiming that this was a throwback to the old days of segregation (the exact words were, “we look like an old Southern town”). To the contrary, it was a triumph for common sense and decency.

Other cities and states are now following suit with this, introducing pro-active legislation that would prevent such invasions of privacy.

It is, as I said, the year of pushback.

Americans are also freedom-loving people, and when our most fundamental freedoms are attacked day and night – our freedoms of speech, conscience and religion, all in the name of LGBT activism – more and more Americans are waking up and standing up and saying, “This is not what we meant by tolerance.”

A great example is the attack on grandmother florist Barronelle Stutzman led by the attorney general of Washington state. As you watch her share her story on national TV, it is clear she is the victim (and a Christlike one at that) while those attacking her are the bullies. Americans will side with the victims against the bullies the vast majority of the time.

In keeping with this, a number of states and cities are introducing religious freedoms legislation to counteract these abuses.

The pushback is continuing.

This is happening with the institution of marriage as well, as four states have introduced legislation that will free them from the rulings of activist judges who overturned the will of the people, while in Alabama, the Supreme Court voted 7-1 to order all magistrates to cease from issuing same-sex “marriage” licenses, thereby directly challenging the rulings of federal courts on constitutional and legal grounds.

The pushback continues on other fronts as well, including the pro-life movement, where for the first time key legislation was passed in West Virginia, overriding the governor’s veto and banning all abortions after 20 weeks (except for medical exceptions).

Even when it comes to sexual immorality and immodesty, Americans are starting to say, “This is going too far.” And while I’m hardly suggesting that the sex industry is on the decline in America, I’m saying that the envelope keeps getting pushed too far, causing many to awaken out of their slumber.

Even with something as small as getting an obscene magazine covered up at grocery checkout counters, moms and dads, parents and children, singles and couples are making their voices heard. One step at a time, they are making a positive difference.

It’s true, of course, that in many ways, our country is in a moral and cultural free fall, and from a natural viewpoint, it’s difficult to see how the direction of our nation can be changed. It’s also true that some of these legislative pushback efforts will fail along the way.

But the more we determine to stand up for what is right and to “factor in the God factor” (to cite one of the principles I lay out in my forthcoming book “Outlasting the Gay Revolution: 8 Principles for Long Term Cultural Change”), the more we will see God bless our efforts.

And as we continue to push back, not with frustration but with determination, the more we will see positive change.

To put this in perspective, we are in the earliest stages of a holy pushback, and so now is hardly the time to throw in the towel. Instead, it’s time to get off the sidelines and get into the game.

Together we can make a difference.